Secure USB Drives From Unauthorized Access

We all have a pen drive, flash drive, or USB drive with us to ease out our personal or professional works. Sometimes you might want to password protect your USB drives as it may contain personal and private data.

Many encrypted pen drives are available in the market which can easily encrypt, or password protects your USB drives by AES256 hardware encryption, but these encrypted USB drives are costly and are not for the general public. But still, if you want to use it, you can buy them from Amazon here.

Here in this article, we will tell you some easy ways to encrypt or password protect your existing USB drives. These methods are absolutely free. You don’t have to buy any costly software for this.

 

1) BitLocker

If you are using Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise edition, then you might be familiar with BitLocker. It is an inbuilt encryption tool which comes in Win 10 through which you can encrypt your local drives and removable USB drives also.

BitLocker is very easy to use. You can just plug in your USB drive and when it shows up in the file explorer, right-click on the USB drive icon and select “Turn on BitLocker”. It will show the below screen, enter your password in it and click next. Depend upon the size of the USB drive it will take some time to encrypt the drive. 

BitLocker Window

But if you don’t have Win 10 Professional or Enterprise edition then don’t worry. We will tell you another option to get the functionality of BitLocker.

Download and install M3 BitLocker. It is available for Windows 10/8/7 Home Edition.

You can just install this software and get all the features of Win 10 BitLocker in even Win 7.

2) VeraCrypt

VeraCrypt is a freeware utility tool used for on-the-fly encryptions. This tool can create encrypted disks within a file or can encrypt the whole partition or storage device.

It uses many encryption algorithms like AES, Serpent, TwoFish, Camellia, and Kuznyechik.

VeraCrypt has a portable app option that you can install directly on your USB storage device and can run it.

VeraCrypt Window

VeraCrypt is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. You can download VeraCrypt from here.

3) Rohos Mini Drive

Rohos Mini Drive is another tool that can be used to encrypt your USB drives, but this software can still be run if you don't have administrator rights. It also has a portable version of the app which you can use directly from your USB drive.

Rohos Mini Drive Window

The intuitive USB flash drive Encryption Wizard automatically detects your USB flash drive and sets the properties for the encrypted partition. You just need to provide a password to protect it. With a single click, you can save your first file in a protected volume. Encryption is automatic and on-the-fly. 

You can download and use Rohos Mini Drive from here.

4) For Mac OS

If you are using Apple's Mac OS systems, then you don't have to download and use any other third-party software. 

You have to first format your USB drive using the MAC OS.

From the "Disk Utility" app select "Erase" to format the USB drive. When the drive gets successfully erased, then right-click on the USB drive icon and select "Encrypt". It will ask for a password, enter the same and your drive will be encrypted.

5) Individual Files and Folder Encryption

 If you don't want to encrypt the whole USB drive of yours as these utility tools might seem complicated, then we have another option for you.

You can password protect particular files or folders as per your requirement.

To password protect any folder just covert it into a ZIP or RAR file using WinRar or 7Zip software and then you can password protect that ZIP or RAR files.

For individual files like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Microsoft provides an option to secure your file using password protections. You can individually turn on this security option from the File > Info, Protect your Document/Workbook/PowerPoint and select "Encrypt" with a password.

These where the 5 easiest methods to secure your USB drives. Share this with your friends and family if you like the information. 

If you want any detailed process for the encryption of USB drive using any software tool mentioned in the above article then share your requirement in the comments section below.