with all the things about our lives that we've laid bare on our hard drives many
of us have done a woefully bad job of
protecting the things that are for our eyes only I mean sure you can put a
password on your computer but Windows
passwords are notoriously easy to get around and if you share a PC with family
members co-workers or roommates there is often very little to keep them from
rifling through your private files so
what's the security conscious user to do
there are actually Hardware level whole
Drive encryption Solutions but these are mostly designed to keep an attacker from
getting into your data when switching the computer on or from just physically
ripping out your drive and walking away with it once you log into the OS the
entire Drive is decrypted meaning that sharing a computer with
someone or just walking away from it while it's turned on becomes a big
security risk this is where the ability
to encrypt individual files and directories can really help and possibly
the most straightforward way to do this is with file system level
encryption on Windows this takes the form of a baked in technology uncreative
called encrypting file system system or EFS which works with NTFS the main file
system used by modern Windows versions for the desktop here's how it works EFS
allows you to encrypt a file or directory simply by checking a box on
its properties window once you click okay it uses standard public key
cryptography which you can learn more about here to encrypt the file or folder
with a generated key called an FK this
key itself then is encrypted as well with a public key unique to that
particular user and finally the encrypted FK is stored in the files
header when the user wants to go back and access it later it's decrypted with
the user's private key and this is all done seamlessly and transparently so you
won't be continuously prompted for keys or passwords as long as you're logged in
under the account the encryption is tied to the nice thing about this Paradigm as
opposed to whole Drive encryption is that it's much more difficult for other
users logged in under their own accounts to Peak at your files but before you go
rushing off to encrypt all the embarrassing stuff you've filled your
drive with over the years remember that EFS does not obviate the need for a
strong Windows account password a weak password not only makes it easier for an
attacker to log into your account account but it also weakens the
encryption on the files themselves as the cryptographic keys that Windows
generates to do the actual encrypting are based on your password so make sure
you pick a strong password as we discussed in this video but if you don't
feel like having all your data available after login is secure enough and you
want another layer that asks for some kind of verification when you try to
access a file or folder you might want to consider various third-party
encryption tools although these usually aren't as seamless or sexy as file
system level encryption they might provide you with a bit more peace of
mind as they aren't tied to your login and can offer more options such as
stronger encryption algorithms or the ability to create things like hidden
virtual drives to make it exceptionally difficult for snoops to uncover your
secrets But whichever method you choose to secure your individual files the most
robust solution is to combine it with hardware-based whole disk encryption to
frustrate multiple kinds of attacks after all think about the humiliation
you could suffer if someone found those sappy letters to your ex that you forgot
to delete additionally if you're looking to
take your sappy letters to your ex with you on the road how about an encrypted
USB flash drive to protect it from prying eyes the Kingston an encrypted
USB flash drive provides highlevel security with 256-bit AES hardware-based
encryption USB 3 support means you don't have to compromise on transfer speeds
for top-notch security and for additional peace of mind the drive locks
down and reformats itself after 10
intrusion attempts you can also upgrade your drive with built-in antivirus
protection and Remote Management features and if you're curious about the
other secure USB options that Kingston has has they have encrypted USB drives
for all levels of security from entry Lade entry Lade that's a mix between
level and grade entry level all the way up to government and military grade
construction and certification so check them out at the link in the video
description so thanks for watching guys like dislike check out our other
channels comment with video suggestions and
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