Using Windows 7 BitLocker To Go, Secures USB Flash Disk Easily

BitLocker Drive Encryption is a disk encryption in Windows Vista and Windows 7 Ultimate, and Enterprise edition designed to help protect sensitive data from being accessed by unauthorized users. The good thing, Microsoft extends the functionality to Portable USB Disk Drives, Flash Disk or USB Sticks and that is called BitLocker To Go feature. Enabling the users to add a password, saving money for businesses to buy software with the same function.

Great security for USB Drives while on the road during Business Trips!

How to Use or Activate BitLocker To Go

Simply Right-Click and choose “Turn on BitLocker…”

Choose how you want to unlock the drive. If you have a smart card, you need to insert that and use the smart card PIN to unlock the drive.

Options that will appear if you will encrypt a disk:

It will ask if you want to store or print the recovery key for backup. This is useful if you forget your password or lose your smartcard.

 

If you’ll encrypt a USB Disk or Flash Disk, only the two options will appear.

“Do you want to save the recovery key on this computer?” - If you save the recovery key to the same computer, It will ask for a confirmation.

Now, It’s time to encrypt your drive!

Easy right?

 

How to change the Password and other settings

Simply Right-Click and Choose “Manage BitLocker…”

• Change password to unlock the drive
• Remove password
• Add a smart card to unlock
• Save or print recovery key again
• Automatically unlock the drive

If you insert the USB stick to another computer, It will automatically open and ask for a password.

Cool Right? By the way, It’s Free!!!

Limitations: If you insert the encrypted flash disk to a computer running in older OS. You cannot save or change the files. You can only read and copy files from the drive.

More: Check out How to Restore the Drive Settings to Default…

Enjoy!

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Quick View: Windows 7 Editions/Product Versions

This is one of the most confusing strategy of Microsoft in Windows Vista. Most of the users only know that they bought a Vista Capable Machine.

Unlike Windows XP, Windows 7 again will be launch in 6 product editions. However, Microsoft and OEM Manufacturers will only focused on two editions: Home Premium and Professional Edition.

That’s good!

Microsoft is Changing: Nobody will be left behind

Personally, I agree that Windows 7 should be ship into several versions because nowadays, some of the third world and developing countries are starting to cope up with the new technologies today.   And then, Focusing into two versions is a nice and great strategy but…

Overall, for me: Windows 7 should shipped and focused on Home Premium and Ultimate Edition not the Professional version.

Quick View

Windows 7 Home Premium

Most of the needed features by consumers will be seen in this version.

Windows 7 Professional

Some few differences: Windows 7 Home Premium plus Encrypting File System, Location Aware Printing, Remote Desktop Host, Presentation Mode, Windows Server domain and Windows XP Mode

Personally Professional version is boring… I’ll buy the Ultimate version

Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise Version

Key Features: Windows 7 Professional plus AppLocker, BitLocker Drive Encyption, BranchCache Distributed Cache, DirectAccess, Multilingual User Interface Pack, Virtual Hard Disk Booting

Windows 7 Basic and Windows 7 Starter

The two are limited versions of Windows 7 aims for Emerging markets. Hopefully they will add a simple theme like Luna in Windows XP. I’m sure, netbook users will be shocked because the WEI score is very low. Hack or crack the score? :D

Conclusion

From it’s minimum requirements and after using Windows 7 Ultimate Release Candidate for several weeks.

Windows 7 is a mature and stable version of Vista and for sure, I’ll buy or upgrade to the new version of Windows.

Enjoy!

Thanks to: Wikipedia and Paul of WinSupersite

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Quick View: Windows 7 Minimum Hardware Requirements

Microsoft published the minimum requirements and specifications for a computer running in Windows 7. They said that the hardware setup they recommend is for average tasks and not for hardware intensive programs.

Here’s the quick list:

Processor speed	1 GHz 32-Bit or 64-bit processor or higher
Hard disk space	16 GB of available disk space
Memory (RAM)	1 GB of system memory or more
Graphics card	Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)
Optical Drive	DVD-R/W Drive
Others	Internet Connection for Windows Updates

They also said that there is a possibility that it may also run on a  less powerful pc but they can’t guarantee the results.

I have a two-year-old laptop and I can say that it works well and fast in Windows 7 compared to Vista.

See? 7.9 lol…

it’s a Hack :D

All I can say… Windows 7 is a mature and stable version of Vista. They said we (bloggers and users) told them what you want in a PC. They listened. And they made hundreds of little improvements and a few big ones.

Less waiting (fast) and fewer clicks

That’s great…

Source(s): http://technet.microsoft.com/fi-fi/evalcenter/dd353205(en-us).aspx?ITPID=mscomsl

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Fun Stuff! How to Change Windows Experience Index (WEI) in Windows 7

Netbooks users surely will be shocked when they find out that the wei scores of the newly bought mini-laptop is very low.

The Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT), is a free benchmarking tool by Microsoft that measures various performance and capabilities of a computer running in Windows 7, Vista and Windows Server 2008. The ratings are displayed as Windows Experience Index (WEI) score which corresponds to the lowest computed subscore. It ranges from 1.0 to 5.9 in Windows Vista and between 1.0 to 7.9 for Windows 7.

You can see the rating by pressing Win+Pause or by going to Computer Icon or Start Menu option > Right-Click > Properties

The Hack Stuff

From my previous article about changing wei score in Vista, WinSAT saves the scores in XML file located at Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore folder. Each time you perform benchmarking using WinSAT, it creates a new XML file(s). All you have to do is to open the latest XML file and edit it using WORDPAD.

*formal.Assessment* xml file

Changes in Windows 7 compared to Vista

Now, it creates a separate xml file for each component.

Fun stuff: Modify your WEI score and show it to your friends just for fun.

Type “wordpad” in Start Menu Search > Right-Click > Run as Administrator. Once wordpad opens you’ll noticed that the UI was changed. Just press CTRL+O to browse and open the file (see the screenshot above).

Once, loaded… Press CTRL+F to find and type SystemScore

Simply change the score. It’s up to 7.9 only… 9.9 vista hack will not work anymore :D

CONS: Like I said before, Computer stores may trick their customers by editing the WEI scores. So, Please be careful! Always, check them by Re-running WinSAT.

How? type "Performance Inf" in the start menu Search and press "Enter" to open the Performance Information and Tools window.

Click "Re-run the assesment". For laptops, be sure that it is connected in AC source.

Enjoy!

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Windows 7 Hidden Secrets, Tips, Tricks and Tweaks

UnlockForUs Ultimate collection of (How-To) Windows 7 Tweaks, Tutorials, Tips and Tricks. This is being updated frequently, so check it out and Enjoy Learning the new Windows 7!

Unlock For Us Windows 7 Power Tools

*** WinBubble, Customize and Tweak Windows 7 Easily

New! Using WinBubbles as TweakUI for Windows 7

WinBubbles-Lite 2009, Access Windows 7 Important Customizations easily

WinGuggle, Gets your Windows 7 Product Key for Backup, System Profile and Customizes Manufacturers Information completely

RegDevelop, Create your own TweakUI for Windows 7

Easy To Remember Password Generator

Encrypted Password Generator For Online Banking, Mails, Facebook, Friendster and Other Social Networking Sites: You don’t need to remember difficult-to-memorize secure password anymore

NEW ARTICLES

Permanently add Open Command Window Here to Folders Right-Click Menu

Faster way to Search files and folders using your command prompt

The computer turns off even if put to Sleep function is disabled at plugged in

Display all drives using command prompt

Retrieve and display the list of DOS commands at command prompt

Where to find the hard drive location of temporary files

How to launch Disk Cleanup using Run window or command prompt

(Quick Tip) How to access Folder options through command prompt

Unlock! Create a hidden or invisible drive

Tip! How to execute an app during Windows startup

Work around to get a digital copy of Windows 7

Keyboard shortcut or hotkey to access all Taskbars Program

How to Convert a FAT Volume to NTFS using command prompt

Built-in Command or Executable file to Monitor a Shared Folder

 

Overview

Get Ready with Windows 7 using the Upgrade Advisor

* Profiler: Get the most important System Information about your computer in one location

*** Windows 7 New Features, Technologies and Terms to Learn

* Using Windows Easy Transfer to migrate Files and Settings

Quick View on Windows 7 Editions/Product Versions

Quick View on Windows 7 Hardware Requirements

TweakUI For Windows 7 : The Ultimate Tweaker

 

Windows 7 Hacks, Tips and Tweaks

*** Windows 7 Login Screen Wallpaper Changer Utility

** How to Add Control Panel Items in Windows 7 (Folders, Programs or Applications)

Activating Windows 7 Administrator Account Mode

*** How to Check the Processor Type, OS version and BIOS Information on a Computer running in Windows 7

*** Add Right-Click Menu Entries to your Network Context Menu in Windows 7

** How to Accept incoming Dial-up Connections in Windows 7

*** Adding Virtual Folders and Shortcuts to My Computer Window in Windows 7

* How to capture and take Screenshots of the Welcome Screen in Windows 7

***** Add Disk Defrag, Check Disk and Disk Cleanup to Disk Context menu in Windows 7

** How to Change the Command Prompt Background and Text Color in Windows 7

*** [Enhanced] Display/Clear the Recent Programs in Windows 7 Start Menu

*** Hotkey to open a program in Administrator mode or Privilege in Windows 7

* Setup a Backdoor in Windows 7 Welcome Screen

*** Fun Stuff! How to Change Windows Experience Index (WEI) score in Windows 7

*** How to get and play mp4 Youtube videos in Windows 7

* How to Refresh your Icons, Explorer and Update Group Policies settings instantly

** [Windows 7] Keyboard Shortcut to Turn Off - On Aero

*** Adding Icons to Right-Click Menus in Windows 7

How to Burn ISO Files or Disc Images in Windows 7

* Improving Windows Experience Index Score for free

* Add Turn Off/On Aero to Computers Right-Click Menu in Windows 7 (and Vista)

Easily Change the Default Download Directory in Windows 7

How to Add Start Menu Recent Item List in Windows 7

How to Create System Repair Disk for Windows 7

* Inserting Special Characters with Windows Character Map

Error-Checking of Logical Drives in Windows 7

How to Use Disk Cleanup Maintenance Utility in Windows 7

* GUID and Random Number Generator

* Basic to Advance Built-in Network Troubleshooting Tools in Windows 7 (and Vista)

*** Tips for creating a strong password on Windows 7

* How to Get the Product Key in Windows 7

*** Easy way to hide files and folder in Windows 7

Testing your computer for Bad memory using the Memory Diagnostic Tool

** Using Event Viewer in Windows 7

* Command Line Switches and Tools Tab Customization for the System Configuration Utility

* How to get your Computer and Server IP address

How to Access the Network Connection List window in Windows 7

*** How to Reset Windows 7 User Account Password

*** Query User Utility, Displays the Logon Time for Windows 7

*** Directly Download Windows 7 For Free – Enterprise Edition

*** Keyboard Shortcut for Shutdown Button in Windows 7

*** How to Remove Invalid “Open With” Menu Program Entry

How to Customize or Change the Welcome Screen Background in Windows 7

Hiding Drives with No Media mounted in Windows 7

** The New Windows 7 Useful Keyboard Shortcuts or Hotkey Lists

*** How to Create a Password Recovery USB Disk in Windows 7

Show the Hidden Shutdown Dialog Window in Windows 7

Using Windows 7 BitLocker To Go, Secures USB Flash Disk Easily

How To Remove BitLocker Encryption in Windows 7

*** How to Add or Put Message Before Login in Windows 7

Easily Remove or Set OEM Logo and Support Information in Windows 7

Skip the Welcome Screen in Windows 7

 

Windows How To and Help Guides

*** Optional update delivery is not working - “You may be a victim of software counterfeiting.”

**** “An unauthorized change was made to Windows. You must reinstall or restore Windows system files to activate.”

*** Disconnect Button is not responding in Windows 7

Solution for Windows 7 RC Download Problem: 32-bit and 64-bit

 

 

Windows 7 Basic, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate Edition. UnlockForUs Ultimate Windows 7 computer help guide, only here at blog.UnlockForUs.org.

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About

Unlock For Us – Windows Wave is the new blog site that will focus on Windows 7 and beyond tutorials, tips, problems, solutions and Best Tools suited to your needs.

Lawrence Albert (me, the author and the owner) started by helping others - extending my analytical thinking and learning skills to the users. Thankfully thousands of people downloaded the applications I created, authors and more than a million page views for the articles, responded after 1 year of Blogging about Windows Vista.

I want to change and improve a lot of things about the computing experience in any operating systems and hopefully I can extend my several years of design experiences (High School, University and Engineering Work Experiences) and implied them to Operating Systems.

Unlock For Us is currently a non-profit website being maintained by only one person with the help of several communities around the world.

If you think that I can make a difference, Please donate to keep me running.

If you are interested, please email me at unlockforme@gmail.com

Thanks in Advance!

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