Things like USB sticks are already pretty tight in our lives. Now flash drives are used to store files, install the operating system, expand the computer's RAM and more. Some users are so concerned about the safety of sensitive data on the drive that they invent the most sophisticated ways to protect it. And they don’t know that you can just put the “iron” password on the drive. Even without the help of specialized programs. So, how to put a password on a USB flash drive? The answer to the question will be given in this material.
Why do this?
The need to make information on a flash drive inaccessible to other users can be caused by several factors. For example, the drive contains important documents that require complete confidentiality. Or on a flash drive there is data that gives access to your accounts or electronic wallets. It is clear that in this case the information needs to be reliably protected. There are also simply categories of people who do not like to flaunt their personal lives and make them public. In this case, even family photos can become encrypted information. Be that as it may, the problem of data protection on a portable drive exists. Therefore, you need to understand how to put a password on a USB flash drive. Without programs from third-party developers including. To begin with, we will try to use the capabilities of the Windows operating system itself.
Using OS features
Few people know that Windows 10 (and previous versions) includes such a useful utility as BitLocker. Nobody usually uses it. And there are certain reasons for this. Some users believe that the program is completely useless, since all Microsoft products have not been completed or spy on users. Others believe that third-party software works much faster and more correctly. But it’s BitLoker that can answer the question of how to put a password on a USB flash drive in Windows. But first, let's talk a little about the program itself.
What is BitLocker?
BitLoker is a Windows system utility for encrypting user data. Whatever the “advanced” gurus say, this program has in its arsenal a very sophisticated encryption mechanism that provides a high degree of protection for user data. It is almost impossible to crack the cipher without knowing the password that the person set. A flash drive encrypted in this way simply will not open without entering a password. But there is a flip side to the coin. If you have a computer running Windows OS at home and you encrypted the drive using BitLoker, then opening it on a working computer with Linux OS (for example) is not possible. But all versions of Windows (starting with the "seven") support this encryption technology. So, how to put a password on a USB flash drive using the BitLoker program?
The process of encrypting data on a flash drive using "BitLoker"
First you need to insert the drive into the computer. Then you need to open "My Computer" and right-click on the letter of the flash drive. In the menu that appears, select the "Enable BitLocker" item. The encryption wizard launches. At the initial stage, the user will be asked to choose a method to unlock the drive. You need to select "Use password to unlock the drive." Next, you will need to come up with a password. It should be noted that the password must use latin letters and numbers in a different case. Otherwise, the master simply cannot continue the work. You must enter the password twice and click on the "Next" button. We continue to answer the question of how to put the password on the USB flash drive in Windows 10 (or another Microsoft OS).
At the next stage, the encryption wizard will offer to create a recovery key (in case you lose your password). This component is necessary so that you can recover data if the user suddenly forgets the password. It is better to save the key in a file and put it on some disk. So it will be more whole. After clicking the “Next” button, the encryption wizard will be interested in what part of the disk you want to encrypt. There are two options to choose from: encrypt only the space occupied by files or protect the entire drive. The first option is faster and provides a fairly high degree of protection. But the second allows you to encrypt the entire drive (including free space). Choose you. After selecting, you need to click the "Next" button. Now we move on to the next part of the answer to the question of how you can put a password on a USB flash drive using BitLoker.
The process of encrypting data on a flash drive using "BitLoker": the final stage
After clicking on the “Next” button, the process of data encryption will begin. It can take quite a while. It all depends on the power of your computer or laptop, the size of the portable drive, the number and size of files on the USB flash drive, and the encryption option that was selected. Typically, the wizard takes three to five minutes. In some (especially difficult) cases, the time can be up to 10 minutes. It is worth noting that you do not need to restart the computer after completing this process. It is enough to remove the drive in accordance with all the rules. That is, in the system tray, right-click on the flash drive icon and select "Remove Drive" or "Disconnect" in the menu that appears. After that, the USB flash drive can be removed from the computer connector. Now you know how to put a password on a USB flash drive. We proceed to verify the correctness of all actions.
Now you need to check whether everything is done correctly. To do this, just insert the drive into the slot and wait until the flash drive is detected. If everything is correct, then after downloading all the necessary information, the operating system will display a window asking you to enter a password to access the data on the drive. If some kind of failure occurs, you will need to repeat the encryption process. Unfortunately, BitLocker has such failures. This is still a Microsoft product. And their programs always do something wrong. Nevertheless, the use of this utility is the answer to the question of how to put a password on a USB flash drive without the help of third-party programs.
Is it worth encrypting bootable drives with the OS?
This question was often asked by users who use flash drives to install the operating system. Now this practice is common, as the read speed of USB is much higher than the standard and familiar CD. Can I put a password on a USB flash drive with an operating system? It is theoretically possible. The operation will be successful and the drive will be encrypted. However, to install the OS using such a flash drive will not work. The fact is that there is no BitLocker in BIOS. That is, the computer simply will not see the data on the drive and will not be able to correctly identify the bootloader. So it is better not to encrypt bootable flash drives, as they will become completely useless.
For those who prefer other methods
There is a category of users who do not trust Microsoft products (and you can understand them). These people prefer to use third-party software products. Encryption applications such as Rohos Mini Drive, USB SafeGuard and others cope with drive protection no worse than any BitLocker. They have an advanced encryption algorithm and have one indisputable advantage: there are no obstacles to opening a flash drive on any other computer (just enter a password). Having an installed encryption program on a PC is not necessary. And this means that such flash drives will be available for reading on both PCs and laptops running alternative operating systems (MacOS, Linux, and others). Therefore, many advanced users prefer third-party utilities.
Finally
So, we answered the question about how to put a password on a USB flash drive (using the capabilities of the Windows operating system). This method has both advantages and disadvantages. It is worth noting only one thing: if you require the flash drive to be readable on computers with an alternative OS, then it is better to refuse to use this option and use third-party encryption programs.