Windows 7 offers BitLocker which allows you to encrypt portable USB flash drives. Firstly, you need to open up My Computer and Right-click on the flash drive you want to encrypt and select Turn on BitLocker.
After BitLocker initializes the flash drive you will need to enter in a password to unlock the drive. You can also set up a Smart card which are usually used in a working environment. Now, you will be prompted to store the recovery key which is used in the event you lose your password or smart card. If you store it as a file ensure that it is not on the same drive that you’re encrypting. When the key has been saved as a file or printed you will see a confirmation message.
Finally you are ready to start encrypting the drive, so just click the Start Encrypting button. On successful encryption of the USB flash drive you will notice that the drive icon will change to show its encrypted with BitLocker.
Note: the drive icon will change to show its encrypted with BitLocker where the gold lock indicates that it is locked up and the gray lock is displayed after you have unlocked it. Now, Right-click on that icon to bring up options to manage BitLocker encryption.
The next time you plug in the drive to a Windows 7 machine you will be prompted to enter the BitLocker encrypted password to gain access to the drive. Select save password to unlock drive option and you can also have it unlocked on specific machines in the future.
In Windows XP when you plug it in you will be prompted for the password to launch BitLocker To Go Reader. This utility is installed automatically on the drive by Windows 7.
BitLocker To Go Reader
BitLocker To Go Reader is a Windows Explorer type navigation utility for showing the content of the drive with which you will only be able to read and copy files. If you need to add more files or change them you will need to use a Windows 7 machine to do it.
This is definitely a great way to easily make sure sensitive data on your USB flash drive is safe. Presently, if you have Windows 7 RC1 Ultimate, you can use BitLocker To Go Reader feature comfortably.
