👍 #898 – How Do I Turn Off BitLocker on a Drive?

You might be using Bitlocker and not know it

It's a surprise to many. I know it was to me. Some machines -- particularly laptops -- are being configured not only with Windows pre-installed, but with BitLocker turned on by default, encrypting the entire hard drive.

Whether that's good or bad is up to you to decide, but not being clear that it's been turned on seems like a bad oversight.

At a minimum you'll want to back up the recovery key. Or you may want to turn it off.

How Do I Turn Off BitLocker on a Drive? has the details.

Also this week:

• Whether websites know who you are.
• What security does your Windows sign-in really get you?
• The very basics of what OneDrive is all about.

As always, links below.

TEH Podcast

Life reared it's ugly head (ok, not quite so ugly -- there were Corgi puppies involved ), so we ended up skipping this week.

Completely personal

I was honored to be profiled in a blog post and podcast episode last week. National Blood Donor Month & Leo Notenboom: "I'm So Fortunate to be Able to Donate, So I Do.". (Spoiler: there are Corgis here too!)

And yes, the need is great. If you can donate, please consider it.

Take care,

Featured Article

How Do I Turn Off BitLocker on a Drive?
(Particularly if it's been turned on without your knowledge.)

BitLocker is a fine approach to encrypting hard drives, especially the system drive. It's easy to turn off BitLocker if you decide you no longer need it.

https://askleo.com/27841

Also This Week on Ask Leo!

Can a Website Identify Me When I Visit? The most common way a website knows who you are.
Web servers get your IP address when you visit. Whether or not that or other information can be used to identify you, specifically, depends on a lot of things. https://askleo.com/2237

Is a Password-protected Windows Login Secure? Maybe like a cheap padlock.
Your Windows log-in password gets you surprisingly little real security. I'll look at why that is, why you might still want one, and what I do instead. https://askleo.com/4231

How OneDrive Works: the Very Basics Where to place your files and what OneDrive does with them.
OneDrive is a free, useful service. Learn the basics here. https://askleo.com/142445

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How OneDrive Works: the Very Basics OneDrive is a free, useful service. Learn the basicsof how it works here. https://youtu.be/kc4JvqGEM-M

Is a Password-protected Windows Login Secure? Your Windows log-in password gets you surprisingly little real security. I'll look at why that is, why you might still want one, and what I do instead. https://youtu.be/8But9u2qYEk

How Do I Turn Off BitLocker on a Drive? BitLocker is a fine approach to encrypting hard drives, especially the system drive. It's easy to turn off BitLocker if you decide you no longer need it. https://youtu.be/UgJJX5UPcog

Can a Website Identify Me When I Visit? Web servers get your IP address when you visit. Whether or not that or other information can be used to identify you, specifically, depends on a lot of things. https://youtu.be/VlbMu3Opxys

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