Bitlocker is a data encryption technology that Microsoft implemented into Ultimate and Enterprise editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. The latest version of Bitlocker, which is only available for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 users, adds the function to encrypt removable storage devices with Bitlocker. This could however be problematic in situations where no computer system that supports Bitlocker is available.
Microsoft has therefor created a solution for this problem by introducing the Bitlocker To Go Reader so that the data on the portable device can be read in operating systems that are not supporting Bitlocker. Microsoft’s solution is the Bitlocker To Go Reader, a software program compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 that can be used to decrypt the data on a Bitlocker encrypted removable storage device.
Bitlocker To Go Reader is added to the removable storage device when it is encrypted. The program will automatically be displayed if autoplay is enabled on the computer system when the user connects the removable storage device that has been encrypted with Bitlocker To Go. A right-click on the device and the selection of autoplay or a double-click on the drive icon in Windows are the other options to display the Bitlocker To Go Reader window.
The user only needs to enter the password the data was encrypted with to decrypt and access it on the other operating system. An alternative to encrypt file systems, removable storage devices and other data is the open source software True Crypt which we have reviewed in the past. True Crypt offers the advantage of encrypting and decrypting data not only in Windows but also Linux and Mac OS.wp-image-19416″ />
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Hmmm…. Microsoft might have just opened a pandora’s box with this. If Bitlocker can be all software based, than it’s much more hackable than a hardware/software combo. And having the encryption on a easy to access piece of hardware like USB is just begging some “researcher” to make his/her name by cracking the encryption.