Win 10 - Encrypted Drive

Just highlighting this if people are not already aware!

By chance I've discovered that my Win 10 has defaulted to encrypting my main HDD (i.e. the C:\ Drive), with bit-locker.

If you are not aware of this, & then subsequently have Win 10 fail to start, I think that you will find that you can kiss your Data goodbye (since you won't have the Bit-Locker Key!).

However, I've discovered that (under "Settings", "System", "About") you can switch it of and/or obtain a Recovery Key.

HTH

Bet you missed this

In reference to www.howtogeek.com/173592/windows-8.1-will-start-encrypting-hard-dri...:

Windows 8.1 will automatically encrypt the storage on modern Windows PCs. This will help protect your files in case someone steals your laptop and tries to get at them, but it has important ramifications for data recovery.

Previously, �BitLocker� was available on Professional and Enterprise editions of Windows, while �Device Encryption� was available on Windows RT and Windows Phone. Device encryption is included with all editions of Windows 8.1 � and it�s on by default.

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Bet you missed this

Yep! And I bet that so did a lot of people!

Just went back to my main PC (still with 8.1 on it) & I can't find any reference to it, nor can I find any settings associated with it (i.e. turning it off & on, plus downloading a Recovery Key)!

Yep! And I bet that so did a lot of people!

I'm having a read of this now

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/using-d...

All my machines running pro and drives are not encrypted.

I don't think the Windows 10 Home versions have it - whilst the Bitlocker option is in System -> About, clicking on it does nothing.

In reply to a post by MrTAToad2:

I don't think the Windows 10 Home versions have it

My Windows 10 Home version has it!

In reply to a post by Banger:

All my machines running pro and drives are not encrypted.

Same here with Windows 8.1 pro, Bit locker is off.

Windows (of any flavour) doesn't encrypt drives by default. It has to be turned on by choice. To turn it on by default would be stupid. It just doesn't happen.

In reply to a post by rogerfp:

Windows (of any flavour) doesn't encrypt drives by default. It has to be turned on by choice. To turn it on by default would be stupid. It just doesn't happen.

Well, I certainly did NOT turn it on, but it IS on in my newly upgraded Win 10!

Weird - unless you have to manually start a service or something...

It was purely by chance that I discovered bit-locker was on my PC.

I was "playing" with some Partition Software & it displayed the fact that the C:\ Drive was protected by bit-locker.

Initially, I have to be honest, I went into "Panic-Mode" as I'm aware that the "Ransom-Malware" often uses bit-locker! Hence I re-ran my Virus-Checker, Malware-Checker (etc,etc) - plus I isolated all of my other PCs (as well as my my NAS & Cloud-Type drives) from that apparently "infected PC".

After a lot of digging, I discovered that it was within the "Win" package & there was a setting to switch it on/off (already set to "On").

Needless to say, I really was NOT amused that Microsoft had initiated this without any apparent notification/agreement. It is NOT that I object to the principle of the bit-locker Drive - I would just like to be in control of my own PC & have already taken the requisite Recovery Actions (i.e. obtain/download/create a Recovery Key) BEFORE committing my PC to being locked!

It is noticeable that this "Setting" is NOT under the "Security" section of "Settings", but under "System"/"About". IMHO, this is a section that you would go for "Information", not necessarily for setting Options!

Presumably there is no way to turn off the encryption then?

That could explain the counter-intuitive placement.

Edit: Ah, I see in the OP it says it can be turned off there.

Edited by RobertoS (Wed 05-Aug-15 09:44:32)

It is weird - my machine isn't BitLocked nor does the About option work.

Was your Windows 8 system BitLocked as well, and 10 is actually carrying stuff forward rather than resetting things ?

I do read that BitLocker requires either a TPM move or a USB stick - as you upgraded via the latter (whilst I didn't), I wonder if its automatically in that case. However, surely it requires passwords anyway.

Bitlocker doesn't necessarily need a password (at least in the corporate world). It can be used to encrypt a disk so that if it is removed from the PC it is unreadable from another device. Putting a password on ensures that the disk can't be read even in it's own host machine without the password to unlock it.

In reply to a post by MrTAToad2:

Was your Windows 8 system BitLocked as well, and 10 is actually carrying stuff forward rather than resetting things ?

To be honest, I really don't know! Had no reason to ever suspect it was!

Certainly I didn't enable/load it, if it was!

As I've mentioned before, the worrying thing that (if you don't know it has been bitlocked) & your Operating System gets corrupted (hence it simply won't start), then you have absolutely no way of getting at your Files!

Fortunately I do use both Cloud-Type Storage & local NAS Storage to backup my Files - but the proverbial Sod's Law will always state that such problems will ALWAYS occur when you have forgotten to backup a highly important file!!

Indeed - the problem is there is no real need (and it could be a security risk) if a drive is continually noted as being encrypted. And, of course, you cant decrypt a drive before asking if the user wants to keep it during the update process.

You should also do USB and DVD backups if possible too

Perhaps it would be worth just keeping Windows on the encrypted drive and stick everything else onto another unencrypted drive - that way, if there is a hard drive failure, the only loss would be Windows (which aside from the time taken to reinstall the thing, wouldn't really be a problem)

In reply to a post by MrTAToad2:

Perhaps it would be worth just keeping Windows on the encrypted drive and stick everything else onto another unencrypted drive - that way, if there is a hard drive failure, the only loss would be Windows (which aside from the time taken to reinstall the thing, wouldn't really be a problem)

I agree with you &, in fact, that is what I try to do!

Unfortunately a lot of Programs seem to insist that things are stored within the "Users" Folder of the C:\ Drive (see my other post about trying to relocate the OneDrive)!

Which is rather naughty if the assume the location rather that getting the correct location (which is easy enough to change).