How to Encrypt your Removable USB Media

 

  1. Click on the Windows icon 

Image removed.

  1. Type Bitlocker and select “Manage BitLocker” 

Image removed.

  1. On the “Removable Data Drives” section expand the section at point 1 and then click “Turn BitLocker On” at point 2. 

Image removed.

  1. Allow it complete the initialisation of the drive 

Image removed.

  1. Tick “Use a password to unlock the drive” and create a secure password using Upper and lower case letters, numbers, symbols and spaces. Click Next 

Image removed.

  1. Backup your recovery key. Click “Save to a File” and click next. This is important. If you forget your password you need the recovery key. Save the file to your laptop and you could also copy it to your Griffith College OneDrive account as an extra backup. 

If you have set BitLocker up on a domain joined PC IT Services should have a record of the recovery key. 

Image removed.

  1. Click “Encrypt used disk space only” option and select next 

Image removed.

  1. Select “Compatibility Mode” option and select “Next” 

Image removed.

  1. Click “Start encrypting” on the next screen 

Image removed.  

  1. You will see the drive encrypting. Allow it to complete before removing the drive.  

Image removed.

  1. Below will show when completed 

Image removed.

 

  1. Plug in the USB drive 

  2. Open File Explorer and navigate to the drive. You will notice it has a lock beside it. Click on the drive 

Image removed.

 

  1. Enter the password you created and click “Unlock” to access the drive 

Image removed.

  1. Plug in your Removable USB Media. You should see it appear on the Desktop 

  2. If the Removable USB Media is already formatted for Mac right click on the drive and click Encrypt <Drive Name>” 

Image removed. 

  1. Enter a password for the drive, confirm the password, enter a hint and click “Encrypt Disk”. Note if you forget this password you won’t be able to retrieve any data on the drive. 

Image removed. 

  1. Locate the drive on your Desktop or in Finder 

Image removed. 

  1. Enter your password and select “Turn Off Encryption” to decrypt the drive 

Image removed. 

  1. Open Spotlight and search for Disk Utility 

Image removed. 

  1. Locate the removable usb media and click on the main heading, point 1, for the drive and then select “Erase” at point 2. 

Image removed. 

  1. Name the drive, under “Format” select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)“ and under “Scheme” GUID Partition Map. Click “Erase” 

Image removed. 

  1. You should now be able to encrypt your removable usb media.