How to Encrypt an External Hard Drive or File?

How to Encrypt a File or External Hard Drive Safely?

Situation1: Hey, friends there! I have had a great trip with my Seagate external hard drive and saved many precious videos, pictures and some files on this USB drive. But, I do know the valuable data stored on a drive also is able to be stolen by someone else and randomly spread over the internet. Therefore, I am just wondering whether it is possible to encrypt each of these drive stuffs or entire drive to avoid such information leaking issues. Do you have any idea to help add password to my external drive?

Situation2: Hello, thanks for reading my post. I do have a Toshiba USB hard disk with hundreds of business documents, PPT files and the likes. They all are important business stuffs. Is there any free software or tool for me to set a password on this external drive and protect everything inside? Thank you for any suggestion to encrypt my external drive.  

Situation3: Hi! Have you ever tried to encrypt your files stored on an external drive? Honestly, recently, I have backed up a series of very important files on one of my external drives and think about protecting them with safe passwords there. What am I supposed to do? Thank you in advance!
OK! Have any luck to successfully add encryption to your desired individual files or external drives? If not, also don’t worry! Like making drive data backups elsewhere, the file or drive encryption is also very practical and useful in protecting important data, especially when you do choose the right methods. But, you really know nothing about setting safe passwords to protect your drive or files inside safely? OK! Here, three workable methods will be introduced. Hope one of them can help you at least:

Three Possible Methods to Encrypt Your Drive or Data

No matter whether you’ve added passwords to your drive or data smoothly or not, here are three possible methods for you to go on:
Method 1: Protect individual external hard drive files with passwords.
Have many Word files, excel files or PPT files, which have recorded much commercial or personal information, stored on a Seagate, WD or Toshiba external hard drive and wondered to add passwords to protect them all safely? OK! Follow these steps to encrypt them with ease:
Step1: Open your file and once click "Tools" tap to open "Options" in coming the list.
Step2: Click the "Security" tab to add an easy-to-remember password there.
Step3: Click "OK" and close this file. And then, when you attempt to access it, you are often asked to type in the right password.
Please Note:
*Always add an easy-to-remember or meaningful password to this file so that you can easily recall it rightly when it is needed. 
* This way is often practical for people who only need encrypt several important PPT, excel or Word files. If you do really want to protect most or nearly all of the external drive files, you’d better go try to the below methods.

Method 2: Encrypt entire USB drive with Windows built-in BitLocker tool
Are you using the Windows 7 or 8 operating system on your computers or laptops? If so, the Windows built-in BitLockee could be your solution to encrypt your wanted drive files or the whole SUB drive. Just follow below steps to protect them:
Step1: Open "My Computer" to right click your inserted external drive and choose "Turn on Bitocker".
Step2: Choose the "Use a password to unlock the drive" option to enter your desired passwords.
Step3: Click "Next" to follow its guidance and finish this encryption process.
Please Note: You also can find this BitBlocker on the sidebar of your Windows Explorer, if it is necessary.

Method 3: Download alternative drive encryption applications to go on.
You are not using Windows 7/8 OS and also need to encrypt entire hard drive? OK! It is also not a hard nut to crack. You still are able to get some assistance from the professional drive encryption applications which are developed for people like you to add passwords to some individual files or entire drive within several clicks. Hope you can find proper one over the internet to go on.
Please Note: Always check the software information, especially the service cost, well before you download it to use on your PC.

Keep Some Additional Tips in Mind:

1). Write down all related drive or file passwords on a document or paper well.
Have set many different passwords to drives or files and have been really afraid of confusing or forgetting them all? OK! You’d better timely written these passwords to a special file or paper notebook so that you can easily find them when thye are needed.
2). Prepare additional copies of everything important on different safe drive or devices.
No matter why you have to encrypt these drive files or this external drive, you’d better always backed up the very, very important drive information on other drives, flash drives or network storage in case of losing data unexpectedly.
3). Data recovery software is able to aid when the important drive files are deleted or lost without sign.
No matter how you delete your external drive files that need be encrypted with success, end storing new pictures, files, videos and more on this external drive to lose more important data completely. And then, download externaldrive data recovery software to recover lost data from this USB drive. Moreover, after accidental external drive format, external drive dropping, externaldrive not formatted error problem and the likes, such data recovery software also is able to be used in retrieving lost drive contents.

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