How to Securely Encrypt a USB Flash Drive

There are so many ways of encrypting USB flash drives. Encrypting your Flash drive is one sure way of protecting your data on the flash drive.

This article will provide you with three different ways you can follow to encrypt your flash drive.

Securely Encrypt a USB Flash Drive with VeraCrypt is an excellent and relatively painless way to secure any USB drive.

Most people use VeraCrypt to secure their data on their computer. However, there is also an option to secure data across the board.

Encrypting a USB drive is an excellent method to avoid sensitive personal data falling into the wrong hands through security breaches and data leaks.

If you are interested in learning how to encrypt a USB drive securely, this article will show you how easy. Three methods can be used to safely and easily encrypt USB drives.

Method 1

The first method used on a majority of VeraCrypt products is to use the built-in “sha1” blocker. With this blocker, it is easy to obtain a Secure Memory Format (SSF) file from the drive.

This file is used to create a mirror image of the flash drive, making it impossible for anyone to access any personal or confidential information from the drive.

Once you have this image, then transfer the contents of the secure memory drive onto another device such as a flash drive or CD.

Method 2

The second method is to use the built-in “hidm” (hidgestart) feature within VeraCrypt.

When this feature is activated, it allows you to run various virtual environments. You can do this by enabling the “Virtualization Manager” which is located within the main menu of Vera Crypt.

Once enabled, you will then be able to select various environments from within the main menu.

From here all you have to do is select a secure drive and then select the image that you wish to transfer over to your computer. You can then follow the directions given to you by the Virtualization Manager.

This is the safest way in which to learn how to encrypt USB flash drives securely. There is no need to give up any personal or confidential information by providing a CD or any other media.

Furthermore, you also do not need to worry about whether or not the data on the drive will be encrypted or not.

It will be, because Virtualization will take care of that for you.

Of course, the downside of Virtualization is that it does not save any additional space on your primary hard drive. Therefore you will still need to have some free space to use when copying your files to your new USB drive.

This is especially true if you intend on using several different USB drives once you know how to copy them securely. If you only plan on using one USB flash drive, then there is no need to worry about this.

However, if you are going to use many, you may want to consider the benefits of virtualisation seriously.

Of course it is no secret that in order to secure data you need to protect it.

Method 3

This is where Virtualization comes into play. The Virtualization software allows you to create a secured area on your computer that will act just like any other drive except it is hidden from the rest of the world.

Anyone who has had experience with virtual environments knows that VDI’s (virtual desktops) are excellent ways of protecting data. In fact, it is possible to hide data from outsiders just as securely as you would hide it from yourself.

Of course, there are other ways of how to encrypt a USB flash drive as well securely.

One of the most popular ways is to use software that automatically compresses the data before sending it over USB.

Encryption is then done as the data is sent. Again, this is achieved as the data is encrypted and then converted to a.bmp file before being sent.

This method is not only highly effective but also very easy. All that is needed is the installation of the software and then a USB connection to your computer.

Conclusion

Of course, there are free methods of how to encrypt a USB flash drive as well securely. However, if you are really concerned about keeping your information safe, you may want to consider spending just a little bit of money and getting an encrypted USB drive.

There are numerous sites online that offer free encryption software and other ways of securing your data.