Recommend turning on BitLocker on a home PC or not? (2024)

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It depends. If you are going to store sensitive, private, and important files on your home PC, you should turn on BitLocker to protect your data from potential theft and a common criminal. If there is nothing on your computer that needs to be protected from leaks, you don't need to enable BitLocker drive encryption.

Enabling BitLocker drive encryption only enhances the security of your data without affecting computer performance (Except for Windows 11, BitLocker can slow SSD on Windows 11). So there is no harm if you decide to turn on BitLocker on your home PC. It automatically generates aBitLocker drive encryption recovery keythat is used to unlock the system when any unauthorized access is detected.

If you want to test the BitLocker recovery key, you should first make sure you have already backed up the correct one and that it is available from another computer or somewhere else except your home PC. You can try to enter the incorrect PIN many times until it triggers the BitLocker recovery mode/BitLocker recovery screen, asking for entering the BitLocker recovery key. After you enter the recovery key, it should unlock the system and bring you to the desktop.

If you make your decision to enable BitLocker on your home PC, you should first check whether there is a TPM chip embedded on the computer motherboard. And then you can choose the corresponding steps to turn on BitLocker drive encryption on your computer's OS drive with or without TPM.

Read More:How to Use BitLocker Drive Encryption on Windows 10/11?

Recommend turning on BitLocker on a home PC or not? (2024)

FAQs

Recommend turning on BitLocker on a home PC or not? ›

Enabling BitLocker drive encryption

drive encryption
Disk encryption is a technology which protects information by converting it into code that cannot be deciphered easily by unauthorized people or processes. Disk encryption uses disk encryption software or hardware to encrypt every bit of data that goes on a disk or disk volume.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Disk_encryption
only enhances the security of your data without affecting computer performance (Except for Windows 11, BitLocker can slow SSD on Windows 11). So there is no harm if you decide to turn on BitLocker on your home PC.

Is BitLocker worth turning on? ›

Pros of BitLocker

The obvious benefit of enabling encryption is to keep your sensitive information secure and, since it's not a third-party program, it integrates with Windows for easier use. BitLocker also works with the Trusted Platform Module, which provides hardware-based security to store your keys.

Is there a downside for using BitLocker? ›

While BitLocker provides robust encryption, the complexity of managing encryption keys can be a significant roadblock to its effectiveness. Users must store and safeguard their recovery keys, which are used to access encrypted data in case of a forgotten password or hardware failure.

Should I keep BitLocker on or off? ›

While this software is a powerful encryption tool that can provide enhanced security for anyone that wants to protect their sensitive data, not everyone needs it. In fact, if you don't have sensitive information on your personal computer then you're probably better off without it.

Is it safe to enable BitLocker? ›

BitLocker lets users choose to encrypt just their data. Although it's not the most secure way to encrypt a drive, this option can reduce encryption time by more than 99 percent, depending on how much data that needs to be encrypted. For more information, see Used Disk Space Only encryption.

Is BitLocker necessary for home use? ›

If you are going to store sensitive, private, and important files on your home PC, you should turn on BitLocker to protect your data from potential theft and a common criminal. If there is nothing on your computer that needs to be protected from leaks, you don't need to enable BitLocker drive encryption.

Is BitLocker obsolete? ›

For your data protection needs, Microsoft recommends that you use Microsoft Purview Information Protection and Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention. Note: BitLocker to Go as a feature is still supported.

Does BitLocker make PC slower? ›

BitLocker encryption may slow down the system and affect PC performance because it occupies CPU and disk resources to handle data encryption and decryption. Additionally, BitLocker encryption is unavailable on Windows 11 and Windows 10 Home.

Is BitLocker trustworthy? ›

BitLocker provides maximum protection when used with a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which is a common hardware component installed on Windows devices. The TPM works with BitLocker to ensure that a device hasn't been tampered with while the system is offline.

Is BitLocker 100% Secure? ›

Yes, encrypt entire drive with Bitlocker should be between as secure as doing a dd with /dev/zero and /dev/urandom .

Does turning off BitLocker wipe the drive? ›

The answer is No. BitLocker drive encryption is a full-disk encryption method. Even if you formatted the drive and the encryption is removed, the erased data is still encrypted and needs a password to be decrypted; otherwise, the data you restored is just unintelligible text.

Should I turn on device encryption? ›

Device Encryption is a Windows feature that enables BitLocker encryption automatically for the Operating System drive and fixed drives. It's particularly beneficial for everyday users who want to ensure their personal information is safe without having to manage complex security settings.

When should I suspend BitLocker? ›

Note: Suspending BitLocker temporarily may be required for certain computer maintenance and updates. When updating the BIOS, ALWAYS suspend BitLocker prior to running the update. If BitLocker is active during the update, all stored keys on the TPM are LOST. Start the computer.

What does turning on BitLocker do? ›

BitLocker Drive Encryption, or BitLocker, is a Microsoft Windows security and encryption feature that is included with certain newer versions of Windows. BitLocker enables users to encrypt everything on the drive Windows is installed on, protecting that data from theft or unauthorized access.

What malware turns on BitLocker? ›

The malware ShrinkLocker alters various registry keys to change how BitLocker handles encryption, potentially bypassing TPM requirements, enabling BitLocker without TPM and enforcing specific startup key and PIN configurations.

Is BitLocker good for SSD? ›

Bitlocker drive encryption will work equally well on both HDD's and SSD's the type of drive does not matter.

Does BitLocker really work? ›

BitLocker helps mitigate unauthorized data access by enhancing file and system protections, rendering data inaccessible when BitLocker-protected devices are decommissioned or recycled.

Does enabling BitLocker affect performance? ›

According to TomsHardware's tests, Microsoft's BitLocker software encryption for SSDs (activated by default in Windows 11 Pro) reduces SSDs' speed by up to 45%. BitLocker Encryption also massively reduces the performance of storage drives.

Should I trust BitLocker? ›

BitLocker always makes sure your important key is kept safe. It uses XTS-AES with 128 bits to protect certain drives, like the one the operating system is on. This makes your data very secure.

Should I automatically suspend BitLocker? ›

Generally speaking, no user action is required for BitLocker in order to apply updates from Microsoft, including Windows quality updates and feature updates. Users need to suspend BitLocker for Non-Microsoft software updates, such as: Some TPM firmware updates if these updates clear the TPM outside of the Windows API.

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