We want to protect our data. One of the most common means through which we share data between devices is through USB drives. Almost everyone with a computer uses USB flash drives to transfer data from one system to another or store data. Now, if someone else uses the USB drive other than the primary user, then he/she, too, will also have access to the sensitive data.
Windows realizes the need for privacy when it comes it comes to a USB drive or any drive in general. So they have introduced a feature called Bitlocker to the Windows environment starting from the Vista edition. This lets you encrypt data on USB drives and even password protect them. So if you are worried about other people getting access to the data on your USB drive, this feature will come in handy. So without further ado, let’s get into it.
How to Password Protect USB Flash Drives on Windows 7/8/10?
The Bitlocker feature in the Windows operating system does not require any extra download. You don’t need to download any kind of application. All you need is a working Windows environment and the USB drive you want to protect with a password. Even the data on the USB drive is encrypted when you turn on Bitlocker on that drive. But you don’t need to decrypt it separately if you want to move or copy the data to another location. You can copy the files, and they will automatically be copied and then decrypted.
So to enable password protection on a USB drive, follow the steps below.
- Plugin the USB drive to your computer.
- Open “My Computer” or “This PC” depending upon your version of Windows.
- Then right-click on the USB drive and choose the “Turn on BitLocker” option.
