BitLocker is the short name for BitLocker Drive Encryption, it is a full-disk encryption algorithm developed by Microsoft for the Windows operating systems, it is widely used by Windows users because of its powerful features and security. Microsoft does not provide a BitLocker solution for Mac, so Mac users who want to encrypt drives with BitLocker can only use a third-party BitLocker solution, and Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere For Mac is one such solution.
With Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere For Mac, you can easily encrypt drives with BitLocker in macOS, and this article will help you explain how it works.
Tips:
- Terminating the program, removing the drive or abnormal power off during encryption will result in data corruption, so it is recommended that you back up the files on the volume you want to encrypt before encrypting it.
- Please keep the BitLocker password in mind and back up the BitLocker recovery key safely, losing both of them will cause the data to be inaccessible.
Tutorial to encrypt drives with BitLocker in macOS.
Step 1. Download and install Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere For Mac.
Step 2. For macOS Mojave (10.14) and later, you need to grant Full Disk Access to Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere For Mac. For more information, please refer to Granting Full Disk Access to Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere For Mac.
Step 3. Run Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere For Mac, right-click the drive you want to encrypt in main window, then click "Turn On BitLocker".
Step 4. In this step, you are required to specify a password for encrypting the drive, enter the password and click "Next". You should choose a password having a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, spaces, and special symbols. Once the encryption is complete, you can access the drive using this password.
- Encrypt used disk space only: Allows you to encrypt only the disk space that is currently used by the drive file system, unused space will remain unencrypted, this option can help you save time spent on encryption. After you encrypt a drive with this option, all files that you added to the drive are automatically encrypted.
- Compatible mode: If a drive that you plan to encrypt needs to be used on Windows operating systems prior to Windows 10 Version 1511, you should choose compatible mode. Windows 10 Version 1511 introduces a new disk encryption mode (XTS-AES) that is not compatible with older versions of Windows, the compatible mode (AES-CBC) is full compatible with older versions of Windows.
- Use 256-bit encryption: Bitlocker supports 128-bit and 256-bit encryption strength. The 256-bit encryption is more secure but will take up more CPU resources, so you should choose different encryption strengths according to your needs. Please tick this checkbox if you want to use 256 encryption strength.
Step 5. Back up BitLocker recovery key, then click “Next” to move on. You can save the recovery key to a file or print a copy of it. Please note that anyone can use the recovery key to gain access to the drive, even if they do not know the password entered in the previous step, so please do not disclose it to others.
Step 6. Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere For Mac will now encrypt the contents of the selected drive using BitLocker drive encryption. The encryption process could take a long time to finish depending on the size of the drive, so please be patient to wait. If you don't want to wait until the encryption operation is finished, "Shut down the computer when the operation is completed" option is a good idea. Just check it.
Step 7. After the encryption is complete, click the "Finish" button to return to the main window.
As mentioned above, you can use Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere For Mac to encrypt drives with BitLocker in macOS operating systems in just a few simple steps. As a BitLocker solution for Mac, not only can you use Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere For Mac to encrypt drives in Mac OS operating systems, you can also use it to read and write BitLocker encrypted drives or decrypt BitLocker encrypted drives in macOS.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for BitLocker Drive Encryption on Mac
A: No, macOS does not natively support BitLocker encryption. You need third-party software like Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere for Mac to encrypt drives with BitLocker on Mac.
A: Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere for Mac can encrypt internal drives, external hard drives, USB flash drives, and Boot Camp partitions with BitLocker.
A: The encryption time depends on the drive size. You can choose to encrypt only used disk space to save time, or select the option to shut down when complete.
A: You can use the BitLocker recovery key that you saved during encryption to unlock the drive. Make sure to back up the recovery key when encrypting the drive.
A: Use compatible mode if you plan to use the drive on Windows versions prior to Windows 10 Version 1511. Otherwise, XTS-AES mode is recommended for better security.
A: 256-bit encryption is more secure but uses more CPU resources. For most users, 128-bit encryption provides adequate security with better performance.
A: Yes, once encrypted with BitLocker on Mac, the drive can be accessed on Windows using the same password or recovery key.
A: Yes, BitLocker uses AES-256 encryption which is highly secure. However, avoid terminating the program, removing the drive, or power loss during encryption.
