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Bitlocker ..... not good (but secure!)

What is Bitlocker?

It's a drive encryption program that makes the data on your drive 'secure'.

Is it good?

Yes, and no. Yes because your data is more secure, however unless you have the recovery key, you won't be able to access your data - even taking the drive out of your PC and connecting it to another one won't be able to get your data off.

How do I keep my recovery key safe?

Ideally, Microsoft would like you to keep the recovery key linked to your Microsoft Account. This is all well and good if you have (or want) a Microsoft account, but not everyone wants one.

You can store a file on your PC with the recovery key, but this is NOT recommended as if you ever are unable to boot your computer and access the drive then you are not going to able to get to the file!

You can write down the recovery key, but if you do this, store it somewhere safe.

You can store the file on a USB pen drive. Again store this safely as if you loose it, you'll not be able to access the data!

Do I recommend using Bitlocker?

No, not really. In theory, it's a brilliant idea, but in practice it's not really reliable as there is no way to recover your data if you forget or lose the recovery key.

On any PC that I build or reinstall Windows 11 on, I will make sure that Bitlocker is NOT used.

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