When you have sensitive information to share, you might want to use a secure thumb drive. Securing a USB thumb drive in Windows 11 is easy and pretty straightforward with BitLocker To Go, the steps below will show you how to do it. Windows uses BitLocker drive encryption to encrypt hard disk drives to protect data on them in case it is lost or stolen. BitLocker helps protect data on your device so only authorized users have access to it. If someone tries to access your BitLocker-enabled device without authentication, access will be denied. Encrypting thumb drives in Windows 11 works similarly to that in Windows 10. However, there’s an improved System settings pane that makes locating the drive and storage feature challenging for new users. To get started with encrypting and securing thumb drives in Windows 11, follow the steps below:
How to password-protect USB flash drives in Windows 11
Windows uses BitLocker to encrypt drives. It’s simple and secure. Use the steps below to encrypt and password protect USB disk drive. Windows 11 has a centralized location for the majority of its settings. From system configurations to creating new users and updating Windows, all can be done from its System Settings pane. To get to System Settings, you can use the Windows key + I shortcut or click on Start ==> Settings as shown in the image below: Alternatively, you can use the search box on the taskbar and search for Settings. Then select to open it. Windows Settings pane should look similar to the image below. In Windows Settings, click System, and select Storage on the right pane of your screen shown in the image below. On the Storage settings pane, select Advanced storage settings to expand. Then select Disks & volumes as highlighted below. On the Disks & volumes settings pane, select the external drive you want to encrypt and password-protect on the list. Then expand it using the drop-down arrow. Then select Properties. On the disk properties pane, click on the link to turn on BitLocker as highlighted below. A new pane will open up. There, under Removable data drive – BitLocker To Go, click the link to Turn on BitLocker. When prompted, type in and confirm a password you want to use to open the drive. Without this unique password, the drive can not be opened and accessed. You’ll also be prompted to save the BitLocker recovery key so that you can restore your data when don’t remember the password. Next, select the option that works in your environment and click Next. Next, choose the encryption mode that works for you, then click Start encrypting to begin the process. The encryption process should start. After a while, depending on the speed of your computer and the size of the disk, you should have a fully encrypted removable drive. Wait until you see a message that the drive encryption is complete. When you want to use the drive, insert it into any Windows computer and you’ll be prompted that the drive is encrypted and that to access it, will need a password. Open the disk and type in the correct password to unlock it. That’s should do it! Conclusion: This post showed you how to encrypt with BitLocker and password-enable external disk drives in Windows 11. If you find any error above, please use the comment form below to report.
