Windows 10: Laptop Security Encryption

Hey all. Does anyone have any suggest for keeping their laptop secure? I use antivirus protection but its free but it seems okay.


I want to know, do people here all have a password when they start up their laptop? I do not have one so if someone had access to my laptop they can just turn it on etc. So how would i do this?


I use windows 10 pro.


Also if i do this, does that mean no one can turn on the computer without a password no matter what? Thus the only thing you can do would be reinstall windows 10? But doing this means everything is erased right?



The thing is for passwords, you should be using programs to do that. But what about just your computer security etc? Like imagine someone has access to it.. sure they might not be able to access certain sites if they dont have your password. But couldnt they just click on their virus links and they could now log into your accounts? I read this is something called like keylogger or something like that? But if someone has access to your computer, then they cannot do this assuming you do not have the computer?


Im wondering what precautions should one take with their computer. So even if someone has access to your computer, they cannot access any files etc.


I heard in another forum that you could use bitlocker, veracrypt or some other program but not sure the name of it. Which is preferred here?


Most importantly, could an average computer user do this or it gets very complicated? Someone mentioned that if you do this and not sure what you are doing, you could delete a portion of your hard drive etc. Mine is an ssd.


Thanks.

:)

 

About wifi in asha302

What are encryption protocol settings? And another thing is that the other mobiles and laptops are showing the security type as EAP.

 

what is bitlocker?

I use it at home for security, especially on laptops. Laptops can be stolen quite easily and having all the information encrypted puts my mind at ease if our laptops were to get into the wrong hands.

 

All pc files can be read/write if you gain phisical acces to the machine.

To prevent this you can use encryption (win 10 pro bitlocker) with a good
random password ( i.e. 10 / 12 chars). If you loose/forget the encryption
password you will not be able to access your data any more.

It is also possible to encrypt an external HD / USB pen to encript only what
you consider sensible data and not the whole system.

 

Okay can someone tell me how can i do this for starting up my laptop? Basically i don't want anyone who can access my laptop to just turn it on and use it etc.

 

Hey all. I like to do this now. Someone a while back recommended bitlocker. So where am i suppose to download bitlocker? So all of you guys are in agreement bitlocker is the preferred program for what i want here?
Im using windows 10 pro on my laptop. Someone said if you have windows 10 pro, you get windows bitlocker for free but if you have other version, you have to pay for it?


So again this is what i want. I want my laptop to be locked where if someone has access to my laptop, they cannot just view everything on it and of course download virus/files to hack my computer. Because if someone has access to my laptop and then just turns it on, not only can they see what programs i have... but they basically could just download virus/malware or anything like that and basically my entire computer will be compromised right? Basically it would be like you downloading malware on your computer itself but that person could download specific virus/malware and basically they could do what they want etc?


As for my documents, i secure many of them with axcrypt. I think its great program. So unless im signed into axcrypt, then you cant access certain documents i locked.But of course if someone has access to my computer and just turns it on, that means my documents even with axcrypt isn't going to mean much right? And is this process for bitlocker simple to the average user? Im not that tech savy so im curious if this process is hard or not.

 

Hi there got a question. I know a place near me where a guy is very smart with computers and fixes pcs etc. I had went to him before for other issues. If i had him install bitlocker or veracrypt on it, do you know how long it would take for someone to do this? And also how much he should charge for a service like this.

 

Bitlocker is the simplest to deploy since it's already built in to Windows.

That is correct. If you have Win 10 Pro then you have BitLocker. I don't believe you can even get it for Win 10 Home - you have to upgrade to Pro.

BitLocker will only help you if someone steals your computer while it is off. And, by default, it does not require a password to boot - this is called a PIN and you have to manually set it up per Change BitLocker Startup PIN in Windows 10 Windows 10 Tutorials

It sounds like that's the threat you're referring to but just be aware that if someone gets access to your laptop while it is still powered on and logged in to Windows then BitLocker does nothing.

BitLocker is very simple to set up - Turn On or Off BitLocker for Operating System Drive in Windows 10 Windows 10 Tutorials . Once it's enabled then the user doesn't have to do anything. Just make sure you keep the recovery code in a safe place.

 

It would take 30 seconds to enable bitlocker - less if you had done it before.

Once it is enabled it can take a few hours to encrypt your drive depending on size, speed and whether your encrypt free space as well (you should).

I don't think he should charge anything for such a service. Have a look at the tutorials above - you can do it yourself easily.

 

Hi there. Well for my documents, i dont think i should be concerned if i axcrypt them right? The important documents i already have done that already. Thus if someone access my computer, they need to access my axcrypt. My password is a long complicated one for it.


Im more concerned if my laptop gets stolen in my apartment etc. Thus if it does, well i dont want them to even open my laptop to see what programs i have on it. So that is what bitlocker does right? Thus if someone access my computer or steal it when it is off, well i want there to be a password where you have to type it in to log in. Such that it is impossible to log in without it.


I know if you put a windows 10 password, that is easy to bypass right? Thus that would be useless. Also others suggested veracrypt over bitlocker. Thoughts on this? So i would 100 percent put a pin then? Why would it not automatically tell you to set up a pin? Because if someone turned on your laptop, couldn't they just click on your programs like that? Then i dont get the purpose of bitlocker if you dont even put a password on it to turn it on unless there is something im missing here?


Well if i bring it to computer shop, let say it take few minute to enable it. Well i would have to choose the password? The other thing is wouldn't i have to leave the computer there for few hours etc? Or i could just get it and then they give me instructions on what to click when i bring the laptop back to my place while its on?


Also is making a backup absolutely necessary for this? I read you have to do this in case the computer has issues like startup? Or are these issues very rare?


What is the recovery code? Is it the pin or is it something completely different?

 

Yup. Except for the stuff it doesn't encrypt (Word autosaves, temporary files etc).

Yes - that is exactly what it is for. As the full C:\ volume is encrypted it gets around the problems of axcrypt (and veracrypt) of unencrypted data in temporary files like your page file, autosaves from MS Office and so on. Without decrypting they can see nothing.

Of course. Or a PIN, or a fingerprint. You can set autologon with bitlocker but I can't imagine why you would. You can rely on Windows password if you have TPM though.

Wrong. It is trivial to reset windows password but not if you are encrypted with bitlocker. If you try it will prompt you for bitlocker recovery key - same if you change your boot order or anything else in BIOS to try to get around it. You also can't take the disk out and put it in an external drive to read it on another PC.

Is not full disk encryption so wouldn't do what you want (people could still see your programs as they are not encrypted). VeraCrypt is a branch of the (discontinued) TrueCrypt. This was abandoned for some unknown reason with the advice bitlocker was used instead. See WARNING: Using TrueCrypt is not secure as it may contain unfixed security issues. Whether these issues are fixed in VeraCrypt I don't know.

Yes you are. Bitlocker (or any other full disk encryption like on Linux, MacOS, Android etc) will unlock a volume if certain conditions are met.

With bitlocker the normal way to unlock is a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) which is a hardware device in your PC. You can in addition require a PIN (recommended) and/or require a USB key/smartcard containing an unlock code to be inserted.

If you don't have a TPM in your PC you will need to set a password (can be numeric) and/or use USB key to unlock. See the tutorial for details.

I auto-unlock with TPM and sign onto Windows with Fingerprint or Windows PIN (not the same as bitlocker PIN). I'm aware of the problems with letting fingerprint unlock my PC (it isn't that secure) but I'm only counting on it stopping casual thieves getting my data when I forget my laptop in the pub again. If I was more paranoid (or required to) I'd set a bitlocker pin as well.

If you want a password then sure you must choose it.

Ive never tried turning it off half way through. Either wait or do it at home I suppose. I'd rather do it myself unless you really trust the guy.

Yes - encryption could fail half way through leaving an unreadable drive. It never happened to me though.

You also need to consider backups after encrypting your drive. By default they will generally not be encrypted. You'd either want to encrypt them, encrypt the drive they are written to or store them somewhere else.

Completely different. It is a 48 long code that is separate from your PIN/Password and can be used to unlock the drive if you forget your PIN/Password. It is automatically generated when you encrypt and you can save it to your MS account, print it out or save it on a USB key as you wish.

You will need it on rare occasions (for example if you want to boot from USB key to do a recovery) unless you remember to suspend bitlocker first.

Note once you have encryption set up it is quick to change your PIN/Password and add/remove extra boot-time requirements. You don't need to decrypt and re-encrypt.