3 ways to keep sensitive files encrypted on a flash drive or external hard drive - wellsdresse

NarsiReddy Cheruku wants a way to encrypt files that are stored on a flash drive or outer Winchester drive.

Flash drives are easy to lose. And anything irrecoverable can fall flat into the wrong manpower. Thusly if you're carrying some excitable information in your pocket, you need to ready sure those files are encrypted.

Here are three thinkable solutions:

[Have a tech call into question? Ask out PCWorld Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector. Institutionalize your query to resolve@pcworld.com .]

Buy an encrypted drive

You can buy a flash push on with built-in encryption, such as the DataTraveler Locker+ G3. When you plug the Locker+ in, it comes up as a 13MB, take-only drive. Only at one time you launching the program file on it drive and enter the password that you previously setup, another drive opens up with all the memory board space you prepaid for. That drive, naturally, is inaccessible without the password. The software runs off the drive, and it derriere be used on multiple computers and operating systems.

Simply I powerfully recommend against using this drive's optional cloud fill-in feature. Information technology uses Dropbox, OneDrive, or whichever defile service you pick, which at first glance seems the likes of a decent comfort station. Merely this feature uploads the files without its own encryption. That means you're trusting your sensitive files to the encoding capabilities of Dropbox and similar services, and they aren't all that secure. Find other way to backup these files—rather one where you seat buns control the encryption.

The DataTraveler Storage locker+ G3 starts at about $15 for the 8GB drive, and we've looked at other encrypted USB drives as well.

Install specialized software connected your drive

If you already have a movement you deficiency to use, look at installing ENC Security Systems' EncryptStick. You cause to install EncryptStick onto your intense PC, but it runs as a portable program on any other computer.

EncryptStick North Korean won't let you accession your encrypted files directly from Windows/File IE here. You have to utilisation the program to access your files. From there, you can drag and drop files in and out of the container, open ai files into their individual programs, edit, and edit them.

One nice touch: The encrypted files take up sole the space they need. You can use the rest of the drive for files that get into't pauperism auspices.

Afterward a cardinal-week trial historic period, EncryptStick costs $14.

Use of goods and services free software package that's not really all that take-away

Regular readers know I'm a fan of VeraCrypt, a free, ASCII text file encoding tool. There are single ways to use VeraCrypt, but I recommend creating an encrypted container (also called a volume or a vault).

You can install VeraCrypt as a portable program. Quid in your extrinsic drive, and launch the downloaded installation computer program. On the Page immediately afterward the EULA, select Extract.

This will put a portable translation of VeraCrypt onto your external drive. You can create a overleap, of some size, on the external driveway.

Only there's a problem. The portable version of VeraCrypt works exclusively if you're using an administrator-level account or take over the password for incomparable. Or, of course, if the non-take-away version is installed connected the machine. This seriously limits with which computers you use the program.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/423418/3-ways-to-keep-sensitive-files-encrypted-on-a-flash-drive-or-external-hard-drive.html

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