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What is Windows Bitlocker & Encrypted File System (EFS)?

An encryption feature built into computers running on below supported operating systems:

  • Windows 10 — Education, Pro, or Enterprise edition
  • Windows 8 — Professional or Enterprise edition
  • Windows 7 — Enterprise or Ultimate edition (no longer support by Microsoft)

BitLocker secures your data by encrypting it, i.e. scrambling it so it can’t be read without authenticated decrypting using a recovery key.

Pros of Bitlocker
i) Prevent data from being extracted from the hard drive to be read from another machine
ii) Protect computers from intrusions/data breaches.
iii) Good for protecting computers that are storing sensitive/confidential data.

Cons of Bitlocker
i) Special TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip requires encryption. Encrypted drives cannot be accessed from non-MS OS like Linux, Mac, or even Windows XP. It is only allowed to be accessed with the initial encrypted Windows by Bitlocker.


ii) Data being encrypted by Bitlocker is not retrievable if the Recovery Key is lost! The BitLocker recovery key is a unique 48-digit numerical password that can be used to unlock your system as below example:


iii) There is some slowness of the computer with the encrypting/decrypting part of the software, it depends on the size of the hard disk, where can also take a long time to complete.

Encrypted File System EFS
A file encryption service offered in Windows 10 and all previous versions of Windows since Windows 2000. EFS is a quick way to encrypt files and folders and is useful in computers with the multi-user environment.

“EFS is connected to the user, not a machine".

So multiple users could have their files encrypted without risking the other users gaining access.


NOTE: Users will receive an "Access denied" message if they try to open, copy, move, or rename the encrypted file or folder of another user.

When an encrypted file being a copy or open from another PC or external HDD, it will not allow access or decrypted. It is strictly requiring the owner of the PC to decrypt the file to allow access.

SUMMARY:


Therefore, be very careful handling with an encrypted disk, files or folders. Kindly contact us either at 6295 5962 or email us at info@achievement.com.sg for further support requirements.