How to encrypt files in Windows 10 - Full-Disk Encryption

No one likes intruders and their constant attempt to see your files. Here we will talk about how to encrypt files in Windows 10 and we will list the steps in an easy and simple way. What we will do is a complete encryption process for the hard disk and not just partial for some files, but we will mention it anyway. What is file encryption in Windows?

First, we must understand how the encryption process works

Complete files in the Windows 10 system, since in this case the files cannot be accessed in any way except through the password that you specify, and they cannot be accessed even if a hacker steals them and then connects the hard drive to another device, he will be required to try to access the password. This was the simplest explanation of the hard disk encryption process in Windows 10, which is Full-Disk Encryption.

Should files and hard disk be encrypted?

Yes, it is very important to encrypt your hard disk files, especially in a laptop or computer that contains important personal files. File encryption may protect you when your hard disk is lost and stolen and you try to use it on other computers. It is an important step and does not have any negatives except in the event that you forget the password that you set, you will face a long and difficult problem to solve. Therefore, we will talk about several ways to save the password in several safe places and ensure that you do not forget it.

How to encrypt files in Windows 10 in this article

The method: We will encrypt files in Windows 10 via Microsoft’s BitLocker program, which is primarily present within the Windows system in its various versions. The BitLocker file encryption tool is considered very suitable for the average user. There are also some recommendations for other programs and tools that you can use to encrypt your hard disk, such as the VeraCrypt tool.

Open source. Follow the following steps explaining the process of encrypting the hard drive in Windows 10 via BitLocker. 1- Open your computer by clicking on “This PC”, then choose the partition that you want to encrypt, such as Windows disk C, right-click and choose “Turn on BitLocker”.

2- If you see an error message when encrypting files and it says: needing “Trusted Platform Module” or TPM, we will make an exception from Group Policy from the following steps. If this message does not appear, ignore what we will do and go directly to step No. (9). We will now run Bitlocker without the need for TPM. 3- Run the Run tool from the Start menu and type gpedit.msc, then click Ok and the Local Group Policy Editor interface will appear.

4- Go to “Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> BitLocker Drive Encryption -> Operating System Drives” from the sidebar of the menu. 5- Double-click on “Require additional authentication at startup” 6- Select Enabled from the circular button in front of it and then press next 7- Also select the option in front of “Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM” and then press OK 8- Now we have succeeded in turning on the “Turn on BitLocker” feature. In Windows without problems with everyone, select the partition you want to encrypt, then right-click and click “Turn on BitLocker.” 9- The last step is to set a password to encrypt the hard disk files by pressing “Enter a password.” 10- Write a strong, secure password consisting of symbols/letters/numbers and more than 8 characters.

11- Choose a method to save the password from the available options. You can print the password directly if you have a printer connected to the computer, save it on a flash memory, or send it to your email. 12- Choose “Encrypt entire drive,” to encrypt the entire partition, which is the safest option for your files instead of encrypting only the used space of the partition.

13- Choose “New encryption mode” or select the second option if you intend to use the hard disk with previous or old Windows systems, compatible mode. 14- Now click on “Start Encrypting” to start the file encryption process in Windows 10. Note that the step may take some time and require restarting the computer if the Windows partition itself is encrypted.

Are you having problems with hard disk encryption in Windows?

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