Solved Is there anyway to safely password protect an external usb drive?


rezpower

rezpower

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I didn't know where exactly to post this one! The title says it all! I want to make sure no other person can access my eexternal usb drive.
I am just looking for some reliable software which will not eventually lock myself out!
 

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You could use a zip style app that offers password protection on the zip container.
 

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cereberus said:
Bitlocker - How to Use BitLocker for Encryption on Removable Drives - dummies
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot for your reply. Actually I have a 5TB external usb drive and it's full! What I am afraid with bitlocker is that it may take a very long time!
To be honest I am not trying to hide and protect sensitive data from hackers! I just want to block access from kids and family members to the drive. So if a faster easy method is available it would be as good (Better)!
 

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WindowsIntel i7-12800HX32 GB DDR5 4800 MHz dual-channelNVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 Ti
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Lenovo Legion 7i
CPU
Intel i7-12800HX
Memory
32 GB DDR5 4800 MHz dual-channel
Graphics Card(s)
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rezpower said:
Thanks a lot for your reply. Actually I have a 5TB external usb drive and it's full! What I am afraid with bitlocker is that it may take a very long time!
To be honest I am not trying to hide and protect sensitive data from hackers! I just want to block access from kids and family members to the drive. So if a faster easy method is available it would be as good (Better)!
Click to expand...
blog.emsisoft.com

How to use a Group Policy Object to block access to USB storage devices - Emsisoft | Security Blog

Step-by-step instructions on how to use Group Policy Objects to block the use of unauthorized USB storage devices.
blog.emsisoft.com blog.emsisoft.com
 

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laptop OLED screen
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Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
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Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
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Macrium Reflect Home V8
Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
rezpower said:
Actually I have a 5TB external usb drive and it's full! What I am afraid with bitlocker is that it may take a very long time!
Click to expand...
I like the idea that was presented regarding the use of a group policy, but I just thought that I would address this concern.

If your concern about the amount of time that it will take to encrypt the drive is that you are thinking that the system must remain on until the encryption is completed, please be aware that this is not the case. You can perfectly safely perform a normal shutdown or reboot and the drive encryption will resume at the next startup. The only thing that you want to avoid is simply unplugging the device while encryption is in progress.

For example, with the default policies, an external drive can be unplugged without needing to use the option to safely remove a device. If BitLocker drive encryption is in progress, you would want to pause the encryption first. But a normal shutdown or restart will do that for you.
 

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hsehestedt said:
I like the idea that was presented regarding the use of a group policy, but I just thought that I would address this concern.

If your concern about the amount of time that it will take to encrypt the drive is that you are thinking that the system must remain on until the encryption is completed, please be aware that this is not the case. You can perfectly safely perform a normal shutdown or reboot and the drive encryption will resume at the next startup. The only thing that you want to avoid is simply unplugging the device while encryption is in progress.

For example, with the default policies, an external drive can be unplugged without needing to use the option to safely remove a device. If BitLocker drive encryption is in progress, you would want to pause the encryption first. But a normal shutdown or restart will do that for you.
Click to expand...
This is very interesting and a good news for me! So just to make sure I correctly understand what you say and don;t do anything stupid:
I can start the encryption of my drive now and then pause it before going to bed tonight, then remove the usb drive from PC, shutdown PC and reconnect the drive 2 days later and without any action on my side the encryption will resume!?

Also another question I have: is it possible while the drive is connected and encrypting to copy some files to and from that drive?
 

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WindowsIntel i7-12800HX32 GB DDR5 4800 MHz dual-channelNVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 Ti
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CPU
Intel i7-12800HX
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32 GB DDR5 4800 MHz dual-channel
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The answer to both of your questions is "yes".

1) You can safely shutdown or restart the computer and encryption will resume at next power on.

2) While encryption is in progress you will still have full read / write access to the drive.
 

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Just tried this and I do need to make one correction:

After you restart the machine, the encryption will not resume automatically. When you plug that drive back in, you will need to unlock it. After unlocking, the status of the encryption will show as paused. You will then need to select "Resume" to continue the encryption.
 

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    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)Intel i7-14650HX32 GBNo GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    OS
    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acemagic
    CPU
    Intel i7-14650HX
    Memory
    32 GB
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    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Varies as machine will often be moved to locations with different monitors
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    Varies
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    1 x 1TB Gen 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    120W Power Brick
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 Max RGB Magnetic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
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    Windows Defender

  • At a glance

    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)Intel i7-1255U16 GBIntel Iris Xe Graphics
    Operating System
    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
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    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
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    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
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    Windows Defender
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    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
@hsehestedt
Thank you very much for the great support and help. :clap:
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

WindowsIntel i7-12800HX32 GB DDR5 4800 MHz dual-channelNVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 Ti
OS
Windows
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
Lenovo Legion 7i
CPU
Intel i7-12800HX
Memory
32 GB DDR5 4800 MHz dual-channel
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 Ti
Sound Card
Steinberg UR44
Hard Drives
1 TB SSD (M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4
2 TB SSD Samsung 980 PRO NNMe
Browser
Firefox
Antivirus
Windows Defender + Malwarebytes

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)Intel i7-14650HX32 GBNo GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    OS
    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acemagic
    CPU
    Intel i7-14650HX
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Varies as machine will often be moved to locations with different monitors
    Screen Resolution
    Varies
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB Gen 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    120W Power Brick
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 Max RGB Magnetic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender

  • At a glance

    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)Intel i7-1255U16 GBIntel Iris Xe Graphics
    Operating System
    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
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