Overview
External USB drives, also known as flash drives, jump drives, thumb drives or memory sticks, are an affordable and convenient way to store and travel with your files. The downside to these tiny devices is that they can easily become lost or stolen, making important information on the flash drive vulnerable. External USB drives are also sometimes susceptible to malware attacks that can destroy your files or wreak havoc on your other devices. Encrypting your flash drive is crucial to ensure that your files are secure and don’t end up in the wrong hands.
Why encrypting your external USB drive is important
Even though cloud storage systems like OneDrive are an increasingly common way to store digital files, external USB drives are still widely used. They can be a great way to back up your data and provide a cost-effective way to store your files if you need to free up your computer. If you need to transfer files and have a slow internet connection, external USB drives certainly come in handy.
When your data travels on an external USB drive, it’s especially important to encrypt it if it contains information such as personal information, like a copy of your social security number, confidential client information, financial documents, medical records, passwords for websites, or really anything you wouldn’t allow a stranger to hold on to.
There are some other security risks that external USB drive owners should be aware of. If you plug your external USB drive into an infected computer, your external USB drive can also become infected by viruses or malware and infect other devices that you plug your external USB drive into. Encrypting your external USB drive will protect your data from cyber-attacks.
What is encryption?
Encryption is a method of securing data. With encryption, your data is translated into an unreadable format that can only be unscrambled with a password or decryption key. This means that if someone were to take your encrypted external USB drive, they wouldn’t be able to read or access your files without the password or decryption key.
How to encrypt an external USB drive
The steps one must take to encrypt an external USB drive will vary depending on what operating system your computer uses. Here’s how to make it happen when you’re using Windows:
- Plug your flash drive into a USB port of your Windows computer.
- Click File Explorer. If you can’t find it, simply press the Windows logo key + E on your keyboard.
- Right-click your external USB drive and select Turn on BitLocker, you may need to select Show more options first. Next, wait for BitLocker to start.
- Choose to set a password and then choose a password that you’ll use to unlock your external USB drive. It’s important that you choose a strong password that others wouldn’t be able to guess. Never reuse passwords across devices—your password for your external USB drive should be completely new.
- Choose how to save your recovery key. The recovery key will let you recover the information on your flash drive in case you forget the password for your flash drive. You can print it to PDF and then save the file in your OneDrive or email it to yourself for easily finding in the future.
- Select what data you want to encrypt. Select the entire drive.
- Click “Start Encrypting.” Keep your external USB drive plugged in for this entire process.
- You’ll receive a notification when the encryption process is complete. Once you receive this notification, it is safe to remove your external USB drive from the computer.