How To Encrypt And Password Protect USB Partition Using Rohos

Posted by dkszone on May 14, 2010

If you want to save some secret and private files on your flash drive, you should encrypt & password-protect USB drive so that no one else can access it. There are freeware that let you do that easily, if you are not comfortable with Windows 7’s built-in BitLocker USB encryption. Here is one such tool, Rohos Mini Drive.

Unlike other USB encryption tools, Rohos lets you partition a USB drive and then secure it using AES 256 encryption. With USB partition, you get 2 virtual drives out of one physical one, thus separating your normal files from the protected ones. Here are the steps to create a password protected USB partition using Rohos:

1. After installation, run Rohos Mini Drive, and click on the ‘Setup USB Key’.

usb_encryption_password_Protect_setup

2. In the next step, you will be asked to insert a USB drive, if you have not already done so. In case of multiple USB drives present, you can choose the right one by clicking on ‘Change…’.

By default the partition image file is formatted as NTFS, you can change it to FAT or FAT32 by clicking on ‘Change…’. You can also change the drive letter for this encrypted partition.

Uncheck the box ‘Make a shortcut to the disk on your desktop’ if you don’t like to have your desktop cluttered with shortcuts. Click on ‘Create disk’.

setup_usb_key_password

3. It may take a while, depending on the size of your USB flash drive to complete the partitioning.

encyrpted_usb_key_created

4. After the encrypted partition is created, you will be able to see the Rohos Disk, along with the actual USB flash drive in Windows Explorer. For instance, H is the USB flash drive where as R is the Rohos encrypted partition of the same USB drive in the screenshot below.

rohos_disk_my_computer

5. One the encrypted disk is connected, you can check the disk, enlarge it (increase the partition size), and create a password reset file (for those forgetful times).

The password reset file, once created and stored, can recover your forgotten password for the encrypted disk. You just have to create this file once and keep it safe, and no matter how many times you change your passwords in between, you can still unlock your drive.

Click on ‘Browse’ to browse the files on the encrypted USB. Once you are done, click ‘Disconnect’ to stop the Rohos Drive, to avoid accidental leakage of your private data when you are away from your PC.

USB_secure_key_create_password_reset_file

6. No one will be able to access the encrypted partition of your USB drive, without the password. Whenever you want to browse your private files, run Rohos and click on ‘Connect disk’ and enter the password.

Use any of it’s options to connect the drive in different modes, including removable, read-only, before hitting the ‘OK’ button.

password_access_rohos_disk

There is a free edition limit of 2 GB for Rohos Mini Drive. Still, Rohos is a good solution for securing your USB drive with password and keeping your private data safe.