File encryption allows you to add another level of protection, thereby guaranteeing that the file will be read only by its creator. If this object is opened by any other user, even with administrator privileges, a blank screen or a meaningless character set will appear in front of him. In other words, the encrypted data cannot be read unless you are working in the system under your personal account. Consider the issues related to this in more detail.
File and folder encryption is a very convenient method of protecting confidential information. But if unencrypted and encrypted data will be stored on one disk, this can cause unpredictable results.
For users of Windows 7, there is a special tool called BitLocker. This application moves all the information from the disk to one massive archive, access to which later happens in the same way as to a virtual hard disk. If you access encrypted files in the explorer of the operating system, the encryption and decryption process takes place in the background, that is, you do not perceive it. A huge advantage of BitLocker is that it encrypts files (including system ones), which makes it difficult to crack a 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 a disk, you must open the "Disk Encryption" page in the program - it is located on the control panel. If you see a message stating that TPM was not found, then you need to check whether there is an appropriate BIOS update for your computer with TPM support.
TPM is a chip located on the motherboard, where the BitLocker encryption key is located, which allows the computer to boot from an encrypted drive. If the BIOS does not support TPM at all, then a regular USB-drive is quite capable of serving as such a chip. The user only needs to mark the file as intended for encryption, and the operating system will perform encryption and decryption in the background when the file is created or viewed. Sometimes this type of encryption brings surprises that are incompatible with maximum security.
File encryption is a feature of the NTFS file system, which is simply not available in other file systems. This means that the copied encrypted file to the USB drive or CD will not be decrypted, since such devices simply do not support such a file system.
File Encryption: Procedure
If we are talking about Windows 7, then there is a very simple and logical sequence of user actions that allows you to get the desired result.
First, you need to right-click the manipulator to click on the necessary files in the explorer, and then select the object properties from the context menu. On the General tab, select the Advanced option. After these manipulations, in the window that opens, you should check the box “Encrypt contents to protect data”. After clicking OK, all changes will take effect.
Like any other action, this involves some specific encryption methods. In this case, we are talking about an approach to the process of obtaining encrypted files. In relation to such objects, it is appropriate to use cryptography with a key, as well as several other methods.
Key cryptography is an algorithm in which the key is known only to the sender and recipient. Symmetric encryption uses the same key for encryption and decryption. Asymmetric encryption involves the use of a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption.