BitLocker Drive Encryption 101

BitLocker drive encryption helps prevent unauthorized access to your files. This ensure that other users logged in to your system regardless of their access rights should not be able to read or use your protected files.

Bitlocker Overview (from help)

Unlike Encrypting File System (EFS), which enables you to encrypt individual files, BitLocker encrypts the entire system drive, including the Windows system files necessary for startup and logon. You can log on and work with your files normally, but BitLocker can help block hackers from accessing the system files they rely on to discover your password, or access your hard disk by removing it from your computer and installing it in a different computer. BitLocker can only help protect files that are stored on the drive that Windows is installed on. If you store files on other drives, you can help protect those files with EFS. For more information, see What is Encrypting File System (EFS)?

When you add new files to the drive with BitLocker, BitLocker encrypts them automatically. Files remain encrypted only while they are stored in the encrypted drive. Files copied to another drive or computer are decrypted. If you share files with other users, such as through a network, these files are encrypted while stored on the encrypted drive, but they can be accessed normally by authorized users.

During computer startup, if BitLocker detects a system condition that could represent a security risk (for example, disk errors, a change to the BIOS , or changes to any startup files), it will lock the drive and require a special BitLocker recovery password to unlock it. Make sure that you create this recovery password when you turn on BitLocker for the first time; otherwise, you could permanently lose access to your files.

You can turn off BitLocker at any time, either temporarily by disabling it, or permanently by decrypting the drive.

To turn your Bitlocker Drive Encryption:

1. Go to Control Panel
2. Choose Bitlocker Drive Encryption

The image below shows the Bitlocker drive encryption screen. The drive ready for Bitlocker encryption should be shown under the “Volumes” section. If there are no drives listed as shown before it is because your computer is not set up for using Bitlocker.

To be able to prepare you computer for Bitlocker, there should be two partitions in your disk for the following purpose:

1. For encryption: this partition is going to be used by Vista to encrypt your files.
2. For non-encryption: this is the partition that would remain unchanged and would be used by Vista to start your computer.

Once your computer is set-up for Bitlocker, simply turn it on from the screen as shown above. There should already be volumes ready for encryption listed in the Volumes section.

See also:

To create a partition (volume)
To format a partition (volume)