Encrypt external hard drive

[Charles Minus]

All I want to do is safeguard an external hard drive. All the encryption software I have reviewed comes with paragraphs of jargon I don't understand and do not want to invest the effort to learn. Is there an easy way to do this? I would be happy if there were just a password for the hard drive but that doesn't exist I guess. Any help would activate lavish thank youse.

 

[Bighorn]

One way that may work is to compress the contents of the external drive and assigned a password when wanting to get to that data. Or the same for folder of individual files. I use WinZip for it, 7-Zip may have the same.

 

[Charles Minus]

Wow, an idea that I understand and makes real sense. I think this may just the ticket. Thanks, pal.

 

[Charles Minus]

Thanks for the suggestion but I have not found a password protected external hard drive that fits my budget.

 

[ac0mputerguru]

Assuming you're using Windows, Bitlocker. But be aware that once you encrypt a drive, if it has ANY hardware issues, your data is toast. This is true with ANY encryption method.

BTW, you'd get more help if you stated what OS and drive you're talking about.

All I want to do is safeguard an external hard drive. All the encryption software I have reviewed comes with paragraphs of jargon I don't understand and do not want to invest the effort to learn. Is there an easy way to do this? I would be happy if there were just a password for the hard drive but that doesn't exist I guess. Any help would activate lavish thank youse.

 

[ac0mputerguru]

One way that may work is to compress the contents of the external drive and assigned a password when wanting to get to that data. Or the same for folder of individual files. I use WinZip for it, 7-Zip may have the same.

Horrible idea, as you've just added a lot of overhead when accessing your files. Expect a 10-50% performance hit for that drive. And if you're storing pictures or videos, try 60-80% hit, as you're compressing an already compressed format.

 

[Bighorn]

I responded to the OP's

All I want to do is safeguard an external hard drive

which granted, does not consider daily usage, only keeping a backup on hand therefore, to me, speed isn't the primary requirement.

 

[Walldoo99]

Thanks for the suggestion but I have not found a password protected external hard drive that fits my budget.

I would also suggest that anything you save, that is important, be saved to at least 1 other drive and to a cloud drive like drop box or Google Drive. Recovering lost data can get very expensive.

 

[TheAncient]

Assuming you're using Windows, Bitlocker. But be aware that once you encrypt a drive, if it has ANY hardware issues, your data is toast. This is true with ANY encryption method.

BTW, you'd get more help if you stated what OS and drive you're talking about.

Be aware that Bitlocker does not work on the HOME edition of Windows (works like a charm on the PRO or ENTERPRISE editions)

 

[W.Alexander]

Assuming you're using Windows, Bitlocker. But be aware that once you encrypt a drive, if it has ANY hardware issues, your data is toast. This is true with ANY encryption method.

BTW, you'd get more help if you stated what OS and drive you're talking about.

+1.
BitLocker is a built-in encryption feature in Microsoft Windows for enhancing data security on computers and removable drives. It provides full disk encryption, safeguarding the entire disk volume, including the operating system, system files, and user data. You can use it on:

Windows Vista: Enterprise and Ultimate editions.
Windows 7: Enterprise and Ultimate editions.
Windows 8: Pro and Enterprise editions.
Windows 8.1: Pro and Enterprise editions.
Windows 10: Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.