Do you transport sensitive and confidential documents on a USB key? Don’t let them fall into the wrong hands if they are lost or stolen. With free software, you can password protect its content.
To protect office documents, photos or videos or all other kinds of files from prying eyes, you can lock them in a secure folder using an archive utility such as 7-Zip for example (read our file practice Protect files by password on PC or Mac). However, the operation requires some handling, including the creation of a Zip archive, its compression and decompression whenever necessary. To save time, and if you plan to store these sensitive items on a USB key, it is better to rely on the utility Rohos Mini Drive. Free and largely translated into French, this software is easier and more comfortable to use than its counterparts such as TrueCrypt, Jetico BestCrypt or AxCrypt to only cite a few.
To protect your data, Rohos creates a partition of any size you want on the USB drive you want to use. This partition is then encrypted – or encrypted, if you prefer – with the AES 256 protocol, one of the most robust today. Finally, Rohos copies itself to the key in a portable version. So, when you want to access the documents that are there by inserting the key on a PC other than yours, you just have to launch this app from the key – without needing to install it – and enter the sesame that you will have defined. You can then retrieve the documents, modify them, etc. It is also possible to register new ones on the key.
Note that Rohos Mini Drive only works on Windows. If you are on macOS, or if you want to exchange documents between Mac and PC, use a utility like TrueCrypt Where AxCrypt working with both operating systems.
Any USB stick can do the trick. But beware: the more generous its storage capacity, the longer the encryption phase will be.
- First, repatriate Rohos Mini Drive to your PC and install it.
Download Rohos Mini Drive for Windows
- With the app open, plug your USB key into one of the ports available on your PC, then click on Protect the USB drive (disk).
- The window that is displayed presents the characteristics of the encrypted partition that will be created with, in particular, the space reserved for the line Capacity. If you want to give more space to this partition on the key, click on the link Volume details.
- In the window that appears, indicate the desired size (in MB) and modify, if you want, the file system (FAT, FAT32 or NTFS). By default, Rohos retains the one that is already in place on the key. Also note that Rohos assigns a drive letter to this partition. You can also change it to choose the one that suits you. When everything is ready, click on OK.
- Now define the password that will give access to this partition and confirm it. Click on the button Create a volume.
- Rohos Now creates the encrypted partition on the key. The operation requires more or less time depending on the speed of the key and the size of the defined partition.
- Once the operation is complete, your key is ready to receive your documents and protect them. Click on OK. You can close the Rohos Mini Drive app.
- The encrypted partition of your key opens in Windows File Explorer like any other volume. Copy the documents you want to protect there.
- When they are copied to the stick, open the Windows taskbar drawer and click rohos icon. In the menu that appears, choose Disconnecting from X (X representing the drive letter chosen previously).
- Repeat the operation to eject your USB key this time (drive E: in our example).
Your files are safe on your USB drive. If you want to access it from another PC, just go through the Rohos portable app, present on your key.
- Connect your protected USB stick to another PC and open the corresponding drive.
- In the File Explorer open on the contents of the key, double-click on Rohos Disk Portable.
- The app opens. Enter the password associated with the encrypted partition and validate with OK.
- Immediately, the content of the secure space is displayed. Select one of the items that you want to recover on your PC and then click on the button Export (the green arrow pointing up).
- Choose the destination folder and validate.
- To copy a new file to the key, use the button Import (the red arrow pointing down).