A flash drive is sometimes literally indispensable. These devices are convenient, small, fast and easy to use. But despite all their advantages, there are some disadvantages: very often, flash drives are lost. And well, if they were not important personal files. It is much worse if the user stored important or even secret information on the drive.
So that the loss of a flash drive does not end in serious trouble, you need to secure it. To do this, confidential files stored on it can be password protected. It’s rarely possible to install a special code on a USB flash drive, but with the help of encryption programs it is possible to protect personal data.
Ways
Not all users know how to set a password on a USB flash drive. In principle, this is not surprising, given that most use a drive to transfer information, and not to store it. Therefore, it is very rare on a flash drive to store any important or secret data.
But even if you want to password-protect working documents, there are two ways to do this. The first method is designed to work with the operating systems Windows 7 and 8. Thanks to the hardware program Bitlocker, you can encrypt data on a logical drive or flash drive. But it is important to remember that using this utility it will not work to set a password on a specific folder.
The second method is designed for the use of third-party programs. There are a lot of helper utilities that perform similar tasks. Moreover, different programs can encrypt with different technologies. Also, such utilities have additional features. For example, software can password protect both the entire flash drive and a specific folder.
Standard method
It is immediately worth noting that previously the password for a USB flash drive in Windows 7 could only be set using programs. But over time, the Bitlocker program began to spread to this operating system. Therefore, now you can use it as a built-in technology for encryption.
In addition to being a fairly simple method, it is also fairly reliable. At least hacking Bitlocker will be very difficult.
Check
Before trying to set a password on a USB flash drive, you can check in advance whether your system supports these technologies. It is very easy to do. You need to go to "My Computer", select the disk with personal data and right-click on it.
The list that appears should include the option “Enable Bitlocker”. Sometimes it is marked with a special icon, which requires confirmation of administrator rights. If you saw such a line with you, then you can take a USB flash drive and use the system program to encrypt it.
Encryption
Setting a password for a USB flash drive using the standard method starts with the fact that the user must install the drive into the USB connector on the interface panel of the computer. After that, go to "My Computer".
In the dialog box that opens, a list of devices that are connected to the system appears. In addition to the flash drive, you can also see the system drive, and removable media.
Next, right-click on the name of the drives that we want to password-protect. A list of options appears, in which you need to select "Enable Bitlocker."
After that, a new dialog box will appear, which will ultimately lead us to the desired result. But first you need to make some settings.
You need to check the box next to "Use password to unlock the drive." Below you will need to enter a twice-invented code. In order not to forget it, it is better to write it to some separate file or just to notepad.
After that you need to click “Next” and go to the next dialog box. At this point, the utility suggests saving the recovery cipher. It is advisable to do this so that you can recover data if you lose your password. The recovery key is saved to your Microsoft account, it can be sent to the selected file or printed immediately.
How to encrypt
Setting a password for a flash drive without programs using Bitlocker is easy. At one of the final stages, you need to select the type of encryption. Here you can password-lock only occupied media sectors or all free and filled space. In the first case, the process will be faster, in the second - longer.
Regarding the question about the encryption method, you need to tell in more detail. If you just purchased a drive and before that there was no information on it, then you can use the encryption of the full space. In this case, all files that will be transferred to the USB flash drive will be immediately password protected.
If there were files on your drive before, after it was formatted, and you choose encryption according to the occupied space, then attackers will be able to recover previously deleted files using software. Therefore, in this case, it is recommended to use the encryption of the entire disk.
Once you decide on encryption, it will be enough to start the process.
How it works?
So, to check the operability of this technology, it is enough to remove the drive and reinstall it on the computer. If everything was done correctly, a notification appears that Bitlocker protects this drive, and you must enter a password to access the information.
After the password is entered, you will get access to the data on the medium. It is important to understand that when deleting and downloading new files to a USB flash drive they will be instantly encrypted, and the user does not need to do any additional actions.
You can find out that the media is encrypted using Bitlocker in the My Computer dialog box. When you install a USB flash drive, and it appears in this list of drives, a lock icon will be next to it. It indicates that the data is encrypted, and you, or someone else, have already set the password for the USB flash drive.
Third party programs
The question of how to protect the USB flash drive with a password is quite common. Therefore, even on systems that do not have a Bitlocker system blocker, encryption can be used. But for this you will have to install third-party programs.
It should be noted right away that there are a large number of such utilities. Among them there are both paid and free versions. Moreover, the latter are no worse than the former. The most popular include:
- Rohos Mini Drive.
- USB Safeguard
- MyFolder
- TrueCrypt
There are some differences in the use of some programs. Some of them work only with confirmation of administrator rights. This means that transferring data from one PC to another, while using encryption of such a utility, will fail. This option is suitable for those who plan to use the flash drive only on their personal PC.
Rohos Mini Drive
This program can set a password for a USB flash drive in Windows 10 and other systems. She does not need confirmation of administrator rights. You can install it from the official resource for free.
The program hides, encrypts and protects partitions with a code whose volume cannot exceed 2 GB. The utility can use automatic encryption, which is based on the AES algorithm.
The peculiarity of this utility is that it is used in the portable version, which is installed on the media. Therefore, uncoded information will be open in the local system, and all encrypted materials can be viewed from any equipment. You only need to know the password.
USB Safeguard
This is another portable application that works with a flash drive and does not require administrator rights. It uses the same encryption as the previous program. If the free version is installed, then only 2 GB of encoded space will be available.
You can also install the program from the official site. To do this, download the installation file and copy it to the media. Next, run it from the USB flash drive and enter the password to block. To unlock the data, you need to run this file again and enter the password.
The disadvantage of this utility is that every time you lock, you must repeat this procedure. But the advantage for many was that every time you can change the password.
Myfolder
This is also a good program that can set a password for a USB flash drive. It protects folders on a local drive or media. The encryption process is pretty fast. The only drawback is that it uses the Blowfish algorithm. It was developed back in 1993, so it has a number of disadvantages. In addition, the utility does not work with 64-bit systems.
TrueCrypt
This is the most popular program that deals with data encryption. Its disadvantage is that it has a very complicated interface. Many users find it difficult to understand. In addition, this program requires confirmation of administrator rights.
Despite the fact that this program is no longer being developed and is not supported, and many people advise using VeraCrypt instead, it still remains popular and in demand.
Point of no return
Many users are faced with the fact that they forgot the flash drive password. What to do in this case? The answer to this question will be a chagrin for some and a pleasant surprise for others.
If you have lost the password from the flash drive, then you won’t be able to get to the files or format the media. Otherwise, what good would be from such encryption.
Of course, you can try to find hackers who have special tools for breaking codes. Some advise installing programs that can crack a password. But in the latter case, you risk your system, since most of these utilities are teeming with viruses.
According to statistics, in 95% of cases it is impossible to recover the password or get to the data on the drive. Therefore, it is so important to record passwords and use a recovery key.