How to password protect (encrypt) USB Stick

On school devices, we have enabled a service called "Bitlocker To Go". Bitlocker is a service which allows admins to encrypt a device, therefore, protecting it against theft. "Bitlocker To Go" is an addon to Bitlocker which enables users to encrypt (password protect) USB sticks and other forms of removable storage.

At present (19/07/2022) all school Windows 10 and 11 devices are required to have Bitlocker installed and Bitlocker To Go enabled. This means that your devices are safe from theft and your USB sticks should be secure and password protected. This means that whenever you plug a USB stick into a school device running Windows 10/11, you will be forced to encrypt the USB Stick. You can take files off a USB stick without needing to encrypt it, however, before adding files you will need to encrypt the USB Stick.

We recommend you make a backup of all the content on your memory stick first before completing the process below, or use a blank memory stick, this shouldn't delete any data but it is always worth having a backup just in case!

Please read the guide below on how to encrypt a USB stick.

1. Firstly, plug in the USB stick, as soon as you plug in the USB stick, if you have speakers and they are turned on, you should hear a notification noise and a window should pop up on your screen:Image 1: Bitlocker Drive Encryption window after plugging in USB stick
   
   If you don't see the above window or didn't hear the notification noise then look on your taskbar for the following icon, and then click and open it, if it doesn't open then minimise the other applications you have open:.Image 2: Bitlocker Drive Ecryption Icon
   If you don't see that icon, and didn't hear a notification noise, then it may be that the USB port you are plugging the USB stick into isn't working or doesn't support your USB stick. In this case, unplug the stick and try another port until you find one that works.
   
   
2. On the "Bitlocker Drive Encryption" Window (see image 1) click on "Encrypt this drive using Bitlocker Drive Encryption"
3. On the next window that appears, select, "Use a password to unlock the drive" then enter a password into the field, please make sure you read the information on the screen as it informs you what characters must be used in the passwordImage 3: Bitlocker Drive Encryption, password field
4. On the next window, you should be asked how you want to back up the recovery key for the drive. (A recovery key is needed in case you lose or forget the password to the USB stick.) You will need to select "Print the recovery key", because we primarily use cloud storage methods (OneDrive and Sharepoint) you aren't able to save the recovery key to any cloud storage locations, therefore this option isn't a valid option.
   So please select "Print the recovery key"
   
   
5. After printing your recovery key, I recommend creating a text file and saving the recovery key onto your OneDrive.
   
   
6. In the next window, I would recommend selecting "Encrypt entire drive" especially for USB sticks, it will take a while to encrypt the drive but after this you shouldn't need to encrypt the drive again or wait for the encryption, unless you remove said encryption.
   
7. In the next screen I would recommend choosing "Compatible mode", this is the best choice for USB sticks as they can be moved between computers that may not be using the same Windows 10/11 versions.
8. Now just click on start encrypting. The encryption process can take around an hour on most of the school PC's
   
   
9. Now that the drive has completed the encryption, it will automatically close, you can confirm if it has worked as it will have a lock icon over the drive in file explorer: And if you unplug and re-plug it in to the device or another device it will come up with the following notification:
   To unlock and use the drive, either click on the USB Drive in your file explorer or click on the notification, like the one above. This will then open up another window that looks like this: 
   Type in the password and then you can freely add or remove from the drive.