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And, enter and reenter your password and click on next.Ĥ. BitLocker Drive Encryption Windows will appear, select the “ Use a password to unlock the drive” option. After that, do select the “Turn BitLocker On” option from the context menu.ģ. Do open File Explorer, and Right-Click on the connected USB Drive, click on “Show more options”. But, it is always better to have a backup.Ģ. The process to put the password on a USB Drive by using BitLocker is simple and safe. Note: Create a backup of the USB Drive, if there is any important data in it. Insert USB Drive into your Windows 11 PC. How to password protect USB flash drive by using BitLocker.ġ. If you’re not aware of your Windows 11 edition, then go to Control Panel > System and Security > System to check. All other versions of Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education comes with BitLocker. Hence, if you’re using Windows 11 Home, then I suggest you skip this and use the next method. Important: Windows 11 Home Edition doesn’t come with the BitLocker feature.
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BitLocker lets Windows users password-protect internal and external drives. This mode provides additional integrity support but doesn’t support an older version of Windows. In Windows 10 November Update (Version 1511), Microsoft introduced a new encryption mode (XTS-AES). Or, XTS mode with a 128-bit or 256-bit key.
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By default, It uses the AES encryption algorithm in cipher block chaining. It is a Windows built-in full volume encryption feature. Password Protect USB Drive in Windows 11 Method 1: Windows 11 Pro BitLockerīefore moving to some third-party encryption tools, first, I would like to introduce you to BitLocker. In this article, I will tell you how to put a password on a USB flash drive and encrypt individual files. But, do you know, by using some free disk encryption software, you can achieve hardware-level encryption? Yes, there are some freeware applications to password protect USB drives in Windows 11, Mac OS, and Linux. However, USB Drives portability raises a security concern – anyone can plug it into a smartphone and PC and can steal important data of yours.īuying an encrypted USB drive with hardware encryption can be a solution. Undoubtedly, USB Drives are useful in so many situations, especially since it is convenient for those who work on multiple computers.
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Apart from storing data in a USB flash drive, you can even use it as a bootable installation media device, to install OS. We’ve come to a point when USB Drives are not only portable but they can store a lot of important data.
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