This article Put password to a pendrive, is the one that you, dear reader, will be very useful, if you are looking for how to protect the confidential information that you keep on your removable device.
Put password to a pendrive
Pendrives are devices, in many cases personal and they store confidential information that is not wanted for another person to access this data, so many will wonder how to put a password on the pendrive, if that is a concern of a user, in this article we will show you how to do it.
With the support of these methods and tools, the user will be able to block certain files from a USB memory, he can also create certain partitions on the disk, and block some of them, then this process offers him security that the information contained in the pendrive will be protected from the eyes of others, and the device can be loaned freely.
They are practical and easy methods and tools, to achieve this, what you must keep in mind is that data you want to protect.
At present, many devices have the encryption option incorporated, however, some do not have it, so a special program such as Bitlocker must be used, using it is very simple, the user must not be a computer expert to do it.
When you have the program installed, you have to go to the Control Panel on the computer and click on “Bitlocker Drive Encryption”, then a list of all removable drives will appear, as well as the option “Enable BitLocker”.
You must click and continue with the procedure, the tool will indicate to put the password you want, from that moment when you enter one of these removable drives on the computer, it will request the password to view the content.
To encrypt and provide greater security to the pendrive, you can use the USB Safeguard program, which can be downloaded in the Premium version, however, a free version that is compatible with Windows 10 can be obtained on the official website, which offers interesting aspects such as copy and paste in the file directly from the USB to execute it, and then continue with the instructions, the pendrive will be formatted and encrypted.
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On the other hand, there is also Rohos Mini Drive, which can be downloaded for free from its official website, it is installed on the computer and immediately proceeds to encrypt and partition the devices, when everything is done, the program is run, and the option "Encrypt USB drive" is chosen, the drive to be connected to the computer appears immediately, it must be selected, a form appears where the new password for the disk partition must be entered.
To finish you must click on "Create disk", it is expected that the process will be carried out, it may take a few minutes, to verify that everything has been executed correctly, the pendrive is safely extracted, it is reinserted and the password must be written. password, if they enter the USB and the partition is hidden, the procedure has been successful.
Advantages of encrypting a pendrive or external disk drive
The advantages it offers when encrypting pendrives or any other device, using some techniques and tools, is that they provide the user with safeguarding the stored data from the view of third parties.
By assigning a password or key that must be complete, it can be encrypted, usually with complex algorithms, which can avoid entering the information arbitrarily.
It is important that the password placed on the pendrive should only be known by the interested user, besides it also offers other advantages such as:
- Keep confidential information without fear that it may be viewed by third parties.
- Safeguard the protected data from malware and other different viruses.
A relevant aspect to be able to carry out the encryption is that you must have absolute transparency for the user, and the applications, which means that the owner of the device can write to all the disks, folders, encryption, in the same way as performed in those that are not encrypted.
Advantages of Full Disk (USB) Encryption
It represents the best way to have security and confidence, so that no other person observes what is stored in the removable device, among the advantages are:
- The operating system works in the same way on files and folders, and as a user you will not notice that there is any change in daily operation.
- Also the user should not worry about the encryption of specific files, because the entire disk will be fully encrypted.
- It can be encrypted at startup, no other user will be able to access the content saved on the disk, unless they have the encryption key.
Disadvantages of disk encryption
It should be borne in mind that when applying this type of protection, it is sometimes somewhat complicated, although it is important to keep the data protected, so the user must be informed of the following:
- There is a small loss of performance of the equipment, when the disk is completely encrypted, including the swap files, the operating system loses certain optimizations, which makes it work slow.
- Everything will depend on the way the disk is encrypted, there may be risks of obstructing the keys.
- In the event that you forget the encryption key, you must know that the stored information is completely lost.
Procedure to protect an external USB memory with a password
Once the user knows the advantages and disadvantages of encrypting a removable disk or memory, it is vital that the process is carried out without committing any type of error, even though it is a simple process.
On windows
We consider that Windows has a security feature, which has been developed by Microsoft, which is known as BitLocker, this tool is installed from the beginning in all versions of Windows, and that it also serves to set a password to a pendrive.
Below we will indicate how to put a password on a pendrive.
- You must insert the removable drive, in Windows "Start", option "search", you must type in the control panel and immediately press open.
- Once it opens, several options are displayed that allow you to adjust the configuration of the equipment, you must select "System and security", click on system and security.
- Then open the window, look for the option "BitLocker Drive Encryption" - choose the drive you want to encrypt.
- Click on the drive to be encrypted - click on "Activate BitLocker", to proceed to encrypt, which can be done through two systems, namely: one with a password, and the other through a smart card.
- After the process, it appears that you must select where you want to save the backup copy of the key: In the Microsoft account, it is a file that if you can and want to print it, you can do it.
- Choose the drive you want to encrypt, but if you don't want to fully encrypt the USB, then the process runs quickly.
- A new window appears, the decision of the encryption mode must be made: the first is special for internal disks, while for external drives the second method must be chosen, the mode is more compatible.
- A window is displayed that will show all the options that have been selected to be finally confirmed, immediately the encryption process will begin, the duration time will depend on the USB drive.
- When you insert this drive into another computer, you will see the read error message, followed by a warning that the drive is protected with BitLocker.
- Also, when you click, a box appears where you must type the password so that they can enter normally.
On macOS
When you have a MacOS computer the process is simpler, just insert the USB that must have been formatted before.
Wait for the pendrive icon to appear on the desktop, right click on the device, when the menu is displayed, select the option "Encrypt", write the password to block.
On Linux
The process of assigning a key is much simpler, let's see the steps to follow:
- The removable device must be inserted, once the icon appears on the desktop, right-click on it, select the option "Format volume".
- Before formatting the device, an encryption must be applied by placing a preferred password to put on a pendrive, then the process has been completed.
What to do to unlock and remove the password from an encrypted encrypted pendrive?
To be able to unlock an encrypted device, the procedure is identical to encrypt it, you just have to bear in mind that the opposite is done, then we will show you how it should be done in some operating systems.
On windows
We already know that Microsoft has a platform that has a specialized tool to encrypt removable devices, and if for any reason the user needs to disable BitLocker, they just have to execute the following procedure:
- You must enter the pendrive (USB), place the password, right-click on the protected device, go to the file explorer, select the option to manage BitLocker.
- Several options are displayed, you must click on "Disable BitLocker".
- A message appears to confirm “Deactivate BitLocker”, it must be clicked for the system to allow the process to continue.
- Once the operation is executed, a message appears with a notification that the disk has been decrypted.
Once you have disabled the encryption of the removable drive (USB), it is a practical and easy way to do it, with which you can lock and unlock other drives that are needed.
On macOS
Eliminating the encryption is very easy, what you must do is apply the following procedure and you will immediately eliminate the protection.
- You must connect the removable disk (USB) that you want to eliminate the encryption, click on the icon of the external drive, right-click on "Decrypt".
- A password is also put on a pendrive, which was used to encrypt the device, it is essential to be able to continue with the decryption, it is an activity that can last a little time, it will depend on the size of the device.
On Linux
In the event that the user requires to unlock the removable device with Linux, what he must do is have the Hdparm application installed, it is a tool that functions as an interface between many Linux kernel drivers.
The procedure to achieve it is shown below:
- Download the tool, you can use the –r option, to check the status of the bit, it is a simple command.
- You must know what is the physical name of the storage device that is required to be unlocked.
- The device value appears on the screen, if the value is 1, it means that it is active in “readonly” mode or, failing that, read-only, which means that it is write-protected, it does not allow writing anything absolutely.
- To proceed to disable or modify the bit, you must write the following: 1 sudo hdparm –r0 / dev / sdd.
When the user executes the first command and the status is consulted, it will be observed that it has returned to 0, which means that the readonly mode is off or deactivated.
Methods to protect files on a USB flash drive with a strong password
In computing there are any number of methods that can be applied to protect the data contained in a pendrive, we will indicate them below:
Encrypt Files
It is the option to encrypt information in a simple and fast way, the difficulty that arises is that it is possible to encrypt certain files, such as Microsoft Word files, like any other program or device that has a password.
An encrypted partition
It is a way to encode certain files that are in the removable memory, it offers the advantage of encrypting what is necessary, but it can still be done with each and every one of the files that you want.
The process is precise, it is about fragmenting the memory of the pendrive exactly in two, so that one partition can be encrypted while the other is not, everything that is stored in the encrypted distribution is protected, to perform this function it is used the well-known tool Rohos Mini Drive.
It should be taken into account that the partition must be with a maximum of 8 GB, it is a limitation that the program has, however, it offers that a program is not required to decrypt the pendrive.
To be able to close it, you must use the option "Encrypt USB Drive" or failing that "Configure the USB key", you must have a key for encryption and click on "Create disk", to finish selecting the size and type of file system, which completes the procedure.
Encrypt the pendrive completely
In this way, it is impossible for other users to enter the pendrive, by default it can be done in Windows, so the user does not require the installation of a program.
The only requirement is that you must be a permanent Windows user, the tool is known as BitLocker.
The best programs and tools to put password to pendrives
Currently on the market, there are any number of tools that are used to encrypt and lock an external or internal device, let's look at the following:
Rohos Mini Drive
It is a tool that has the peculiarity of not completely blocking the pendrive, however, it fragments the memory of the disk into two parts, just as it only blocks a part of the memory.
The program's installer wizard allows the user to easily create a partition, it contains a portable partition that allows it to run on all kinds of computers, so this section can be accessed from anywhere.
BitLocker
It is a tool that gives the option to put a password on a pendrive, which will be used exclusively, in the company of the Windows operating system, the only difficulty that it presents is that only Windows has it, it is located in the Control Panel, to To obtain it, select the option "Activ BitLocker".
USB SafeGuard
It is a good option to put a password to a pendrive completely, which means that it makes a partition, as well as it does not depend on a specific system function, you can find free versions to protect devices up to 4GB, in the case that want for more GB you must purchase the paid version.
The system for encryption is AES 256 bits, and it is also compatible with Windows 10, it is only required to copy and paste the file from the memory of the pendrive.
granite-portable
It offers an ideal tool that allows you to put a password on a pendrive, the latest version that appeared on the market is absolutely compatible with the other versions of Windows, it must be downloaded and run.
VeraCrypt
It is an encryption tool that follows the project started by TryCrypt, it has versions available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux, to encrypt a USB drive it offers various options, such as:
- Encrypt the entire drive.
- In turn encrypt only one partition of certain files.
- Create many partitions on the drive.