Pc hd question

dell

Member
Hi, going on a trip soon, will be using a friend's desktop to view some files on on my external hd, if I plug the usb with external hd into the computer and view the files using the computers image viewer will that leave a footprint on his internal desktop hd? Nothing will be downloaded to the pc from the external hd.
 

voyagerfan99

Master of Turning Things Off and Back On Again
Staff member
Kinda offtopic, but how would one go about password protecting an
external western digital hd?
The drive should have software on it already that can do that. If you don't have it setup you can probably get it off WD's support website.
 
Bitlocker is a Windows application, already on your computer, most likely. Read Here About BitLocker

Here is one way you can enable it:
screenshot_02.png

Or, right-click on the drive you wish to encrypt:
screenshot_01.png
Set a password and do NOT forget it:
screenshot_03.png

Save your backup / recovery key, or print it out, in case you DO lose / forget your password:
screenshot_04.png
Personally, I save mine to a text file, using the "Save to a file" option immediately above. But, again, do NOT lose this information. You will not be able to unlock your drive if you lose both your password and your backup / recovery key. You will have to reformat your drive, thus losing all data protected by BitLocker.
 

dell

Member
How would I turn on bitlocker if using Windows 7 pro? From your screen shot it looks like your using windows 10?
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Unfortunately for windows 7, you need to have ultimate or enterprise. I believe it started with windows 8 where it was available for professional.
 

dell

Member
Also, can I set it up to where I can unlock the external HD on any pc, or does it have to be my pc only, as the WD software requires the external Hd to first be connected to the pc where the password was set on.
 
Supported Versions:
  • Windows 10 - Educational, Professional, or Enterprise edition
  • Windows 8 — Professional or Enterprise edition
  • Windows 7 — Ultimate or Enterprise edition
I did not realize this, at the time I posted my reply. My apologies.
 

dell

Member
The WD procedure seems alot easier, just one one question with that, first you connect the External Hd to the pc , then set up the password, where then it creates a shortcut on your desktop to login, once you disconnect the external Hd from the pc, will it still be storing the date from the external hd on the pc, or just once the external hd is connected?
 

Agent Smith

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't trust Bitlocker. It's closed source and more than likely has a back door built in. But it's better than nothing. If you don't have ultra highly classified secrets or some damn thing I guess it will suffice. You might be interested in useing Truecrypt or Veracrypt. I would never touch Bitlocker with a 10 foot pole.
 

dell

Member
I wouldn't trust Bitlocker. It's closed source and more than likely has a back door built in. But it's better than nothing. If you don't have ultra highly classified secrets or some damn thing I guess it will suffice. You might be interested in useing Truecrypt or Veracrypt. I would never touch Bitlocker with a 10 foot pole.
Yeah, my gut feeling after going through the bitlocker procedure was pure suspicion . Thats why im now asking about the WD encryption option they offer. Seems alot more straight forward too

Is WD (western Digital) password program pretty secure? I dont mean for someone to break, I mean anyway for WD to spy on my data, it requires a program to be installed
 
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Agent Smith

Well-Known Member
Is WD (western Digital) password program pretty secure? I dont mean for someone to break, I mean anyway for WD to spy on my data, it requires a program to be installed


I'm not sure. I don't think they would sniff your data with the program you run if that's your question, but I don't know about their encryption implementation. A company's encryption isn't open source so the code can't be reviewed so if thre is a back door you'll won't know about it. Not saying don't use it. It may be a lot easier for you to use.

I prefer Truecrypt myself since it has been audited and I followed that audit closely since I used TC for years and years. But there was most likely a Lavebit situation and I suppose some government told them to shut down and that's just what they did. We can only speculate. That's why I like TC. Albeit, there is a flaw with the Evil Maid hack, but you can employ some safe guards. That's for whole disk encryption though in a computer. For an external drive I'm not sure if Evil Maid can attack it. VeraCrypt may have combated that, but it hasn't ever been audited so I can't use it until that time comes. I'd really like to though.

I would would use Truecrypt, Veracrypt of the WD encryption if it makes it easier. If you have like top secret documents Like Wikileaks stuff, then you need to take all kinds of other actions.
 
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