Password Protect External Harddisk

Vyom93 said:

I bought this Hitachi touro mobile 1TB drive it does not have any software utilities as other drive and i want to password protect the drive partition which software should i use i have see true crypt but its interface and setup look complicated
can i use wd security software or suggest any other software's & will password protecting drive partition prevent the drive from
getting infected from virus ? that why i want to password protect the drive

HGST Touro Mobile | Portable Storage Device

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Hi [MENTION=141652]Vyom93[/MENTION],

As per your requirement, I’d suggest you to use the BitLocker utility, its the inbuilt function in Windows 8 pro and Enterprise and its also available in the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows 7.

For more information about BitLocker, you may refer the below link:

External Hard Drive Encryption For Windows using BitLocker | HGST Storage

If you don't have the Enterprise or Ultimate editions of Windows, you can install the 3rd party software for password protection.

The WD security software is encryption utility that only works with the WD hardware.

Example: WD My Passport and WD My Passport utility.

Hope it helps.

thanks bro it really a good idea of using bitlocker

but this does not give password protection for other computers..?

Vyom93 said:

thanks bro it really a good idea of using bitlocker

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You are Welcome

Update: The password protection utility will only help you to provide the privacy of data not a virus protection. For viruses, you have to use the antivirus softwares.

amit.tiger12 said:

but this does not give password protection for other computers..?

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I agree with you, if the other system don't have the BitLocker, due to the password encryption, you are not able to access the data in downgraded systems

Example: Windows 7 Home, Vista and Xp.

To overcome the problem, you have to install the BitLocker or use the 3rd party password protection softwares.

DK_WD said:

Update: The password protection utility will only help you to provide the privacy of data not a virus protection. For viruses, you have to use the antivirus softwares.

Click to expand...

i know its not virus protection but i thought that if i password protected the drive when i connect my drive to an virus infected PC it will not allow access to the drive so some auto run virus like recycler virus etc will not get into my drive

Vyom93 said:

i know its not virus protection but i thought that if i password protected the drive when i connect my drive to an virus infected PC it will not allow access to the drive so some auto run virus like recycler virus etc will not get into my drive

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Hi [MENTION=141652]Vyom93[/MENTION],

Yup, you are right. With the help of Password protection software, you will get the privacy on drive

Hey,

You can also consider TrueCrypt also. Using BitLocker limits to Windows 8 only and need 3rd party software in other versions of Windows. Whereas using TrueCrypt, you can open them from any OS. You can either encrypt your entire drive or create chunks of volumes(files) say in 100 or 200gb. If you've a portable version in usb also helps.

It is said that TrueCrypt is not secure anymore but well according to me it does a pretty decent job in hiding/preventing access to your data to those who've got a hand of your hard drive and no need to worry much about security unless you're on NSA's watch list.

I'm using truecrypt to encrypt hdd partitions and files since last 6 years. The interface may seem a little complicated, but once you get used to it, it is very easy to configure. You can use truecrypt to encrypt the full hdd, or a partition. You can also create encrypted file containers and use them just like any file. I will mention the basic steps here for you.

Open truecrypt, press the button 'Create Volume' to open the volume creation wizard. Select 'Encrypt a non-system partition/drive' > Next > 'Standard Truecrypt Volume' > Next > 'Select Device'. Here you select the external hdd > Next > 'Create encrypted volume and format it' if there is no data in .the disk. If there is data already then select the option 'Encrypt partition in place'. First option is recommended, you can later copy the files. > Next > Encryption algorithm. I use the default 'AES'. > Next > Next > Enter your password. Minimum 20 characters is recommended, but you can use even a single character. Optionally you can also use a 'keyfile' like a picture or audio or video file which will be required later to decrypt the container. > Next > 'Yes' for Large Files > Next > Format. This will format the drive and encrypt it. After the format is complete, close the wizard. There is no finish button, if you press the next button, the wizard will start from the beginning.

In the main window you can see partition letters, click any one of them, click 'Select Device', then click 'Mount'. you will be prompted to enter the password and the drive will mount as a normal partition in my computer. You can also add a few options in 'settings' menu like 'open explorer window for successfully mounted volumes' and 'auto dismount volume if no data is read/written after the specified time.

Even if you forget to dismount the drive, the partition will dismounted automatically on reboot.

You can even create a batch file for automatic mounting at boot time if you wish.