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How to Turn On or Off Auto-unlock for a BitLocker Protected Drive in Windows 10
BitLocker is one of the key data protection technologies in Windows 10. BitLocker can encrypt the system drive (the drive Windows is installed on), and internal hard drives. The BitLocker To Go feature allows protecting files stored on a removable drive, such as a USB flash drive. You can also configure BitLocker to automatically unlock a drive protected with BitLocker every time you sign in to your user account.
Turn On or Off BitLocker for Removable Data Drives in Windows 10 (BitLocker To Go)
For extra protection, Windows 10 allows enabling BitLocker for removable data drives. Also known as 'BitLocker To Go', this feature includes the encryption of USB flash drives, SD cards, external hard disk drives, and other drives formatted by using the NTFS, FAT16, FAT32, or exFAT file systems. It supports protection with a smartcard or password.
How to Change BitLocker Encryption Method and Cipher Strength in Windows 10
BitLocker in Windows 10 supports a number of encryption methods, and supports changing a cipher strength. These options can be configured with either Group Policy or Registry Editor. In this post, we will review both methods.
How to Encrypt a VHD or VHDX File with BitLocker in Windows 10
Windows 10 allows you to create a VHD file and encrypt it with BitLocker, so your data inside that VHD file will be safely protected. You will be prompted to unlock it with a password. It will encrypt the new files automatically when you copy them to the VHD. Here's how to configure this useful feature.
For extra protection, Windows 10 allows enabling a special policy that prevents write operations to fixed drives that are not protected by BitLocker. Non-protected drives will be mounted as read-only to ensure that all your sensitive data is written to an encrypted storage device.
Yesterday, a vulnerablity was discovered in the hardware encryption implemented by some SSDs. Unfortunately, BitLocker in Windows 10 (and possibly Windows 8.1 as well) delegates the duty of securely encrypting and protecting the user's data to the drive manufacturer. When hardware encryption is available, it does not verify if the encryption is foolproof, and turns off its own software-based encryption, making your data vulnerable. Here is a workaround you can apply.
If you are using BitLocker, you might find it useful to create a special shortcut to open the Drive Encryption window directly with one click. From there, you will be able to suspend the drive's protection, change how your drive is unlocked at startup, back up your recovery key, or turn off BitLocker completely for one or more installed drives.
