Encrypt files

Encryption of files allows you to add one more level of protection, thereby giving a guarantee that the file will be read only by its creator. If this object is opened by any other user, even with administrator privileges, then a blank screen or a meaningless set of characters will appear before it. In other words, encrypted data can not be read unless you are using the system under your personal account. Let's consider the related questions in more detail.

Encryption of files and folders is a very convenient method for protecting confidential information. But if unencrypted and encrypted data is stored on one disk, this can cause unpredictable results.

For Windows 7 users, there is a special tool called BitLocker. This application moves all the information from the disk to one massive archive, which is accessed in the same way as a virtual hard disk. If you access the encrypted files in the operating system's explorer, the process of encryption and decryption occurs in the background, that is, you do not perceive it. The huge advantage of BitLocker is that it encrypts files (including system ones), and this makes it difficult to crack the password, as well as unauthorized access to the system from the outside. If the entire disk is encrypted, then there is no need to encrypt individual files.

To encrypt the disk, you need to open the "Disk Encryption" page in the program - it is located on the control panel. If you see a message stating that TPM is not found, you should check whether there is an appropriate BIOS update for your computer that supports TPM.

TPM is a microcircuit located on the motherboard where the BitLocker encryption key is located, which allows the computer to boot from an encrypted disk. If the BIOS does not support TPM at all, then a normal USB drive is quite capable of serving as such a chip. The user only needs to mark the file as encrypted, and the operating system will perform the encryption and decryption operation in the background when the file is created or viewed. Sometimes this type of encryption presents surprises that are incompatible with ensuring maximum security.

Encryption of files is a function of the NTFS file system, which in other file systems is simply not available. This indicates that the copied encrypted file on the USB drive or CD-ROM will not be decrypted, since such devices simply do not support such a file system.

Encrypting files: a sequence of actions

If we are talking about Windows 7, then there is a very simple and logical sequence of user actions, allowing you to get the desired result.

To start, you need to right-click on the desired file in Explorer, and then select the properties of the object from the context menu. On the General tab, select the Advanced option. After these manipulations in the opened window, you should set the "Encrypt content for data protection" checkbox. After clicking "OK" all changes will take effect.

Like any other action, this assumes some specific encryption methods. In this case, we are talking about the approach to the very process of obtaining encrypted files. With respect to such objects it is appropriate to use cryptography with a key, as well as several other methods.

Cryptography with a key is an algorithm in which the key is known only to the sender and the recipient. Symmetric encryption uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt. Asymmetric encryption involves the use of a public key for encryption and private encryption for decryption.