Vista’s Bitlocker Drive Encryption (Part I)

Bitlocker Drive Encryption protects against data theft by encrypting the entire Windows volume. It ensures that your data remains encrypted, even if someone physically tampers with the computer. For example, if a malicious user moves your hard drive to another computer, he or she will not be able to view the contents of it.

You enable the Bitlocker Drive Encryption through the Windows Vista Control Panel. If your computer does not meet the minimum requirements listed below, you will not be able to enable this feature.

Your computer must meet the following requirements:

• Windows Vista
• Trusted Platform Module (TPM) microchip v1.2 or USB flash drive.
• Trusted Computer Group (TCG)-compliant BIOS.
• Two NTFS partitions - one for the system volume and one for the operating system volume.
• System volume must be at least 1.5 GB and set as the active partition.

[tags]Vista, Bitlocker, drive encryption, Microsoft, Windows[/tags]