How to Password Protect an External Hard Drive on Windows and Mac

By Justin SabrinaUpdated on December 17, 2022

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Q: “I’m a manager and work on the road a lot, so I usually use an external hard drive at work to carry and store my various important files. I want to lock an external hard drive, is any free USB encryption software to lock my USB hard drive? ”

The external hard drive is widely used to store, backup and transfer data, sometimes, you may use an external USB hard drive to store your important data and sensitive files, including private information, private photos & videos, login credentials, company document, tax and financial information and more. Sometimes, you would like to back up large files from computer to external hard drive for free up space on SSD/HDD, or transferring the files between to computers. It is no doubt that external hard drive helps us a lot to store and manage our important data.

It’s Important to Encrypt Your External Hard Drive

However, it exists some security risks when you saving important data on external hard drive. For example, an external hard drive can easy to lose because of portability and files leakage can come along if you haven’t password protect your external hard drive. So, it’s necessary to password protect an external hard drive to protects your privacy and important data from theft, loss or leaks. Today, we will teach you how to lock and hide files & folders on an external hard drive, and how to password protect an external hard drive to avoiding theft, loss or leaks. Let’s keep reading.

CONTENTS

Method 1: Password Protect Folders & Files on an External Hard Drive

As a locking expert, UkeySoft File Lock is a professional encryption tool definitely which can assistant you to hide or password protect your files and folders on computer and external hard drive. UkeySoft File Lock uses 256-bits AES which is a military grade algorithms that can protect your files and folders on computer greatly. The program not only can lock and hide your files and folders on PC/Mac, but also can password protect any external USB flash drive. After locking your files and folders with UkeySoft File Lock, you must to enter a right password to access your files and folders.

Key Features:

• Password protect data on any external hard drive.
• Lock files or folders on an external hard drive with an AES encryption algorithm
• Hide files or folders from external hard disk
• Lock and hide files & folders on your computer
• Monitor a folder or drive in Windows WW/10/8/7/XP

Guide: How to Lock Folders and Files on an External Hard Drive

Step 1. Download and Install UkeySoft File Lock on Windows PC
Before you use UkeySoft File Lock, you need install it in your computer. Then, turn on this program and input the initial password “123456” if you use the trial version.

Step 2. Insert your External Hard Drive
Connect your external hard drive to Windows PC, and the program can detect your device quickly and automatically.

Step 3. Add your Files/Folders to Encrypt
Please go to the “External Disk” on the left, and you can see Hiding Files option and Locking File option. If you want to encrypt your data on an external drive, select “Locking File” and select “Lock File” or "Lock Folder”.

Then choose the content you want to lock which is in the external drive.

Step 4. Password Protect Files and Folders in External USB Hard Drive
After adding folder and files to the list, enter the password and click "Lock" button to password protect the added files and folders in the external drive.

After that, your locking files and folders are in the list. People only type the right password can access the files and folders no matter your external drive plugs into any computer.

Step 5. Unlock Files and Folders
You can unlock files and folders in your external hard drive. You just need to select your locked files and folders to unlock in the locking list and click on “Unlock” button.

Method 2: Encrypt an External Hard Drive with Password

If you borrow your external hard drive to other people, you surely don’t want the sensitive data in it such as your family photos, personal videos, important files and so on being viewed. This time your external hard drive needs a password to be secured. In this part, we show you a way to encrypt an entire external hard drive with password, you can learn how to divide external hard drive as secure area and public area.

The USB Encryption, one of the popular products of UkeySoft, which focus on solving the USB data breaches issue. Different from UkeySoft File Lock, it can easily convert a regular USB hard drive into a secured area and public area, and the data stored on the secure area is encrypted by 256-bits AES on-the-fly encryption. With the help of this professional USB encryption tool, you will not worry about your data leakage in your external hard drive, even someone uses your external hard drive. UkeySoft USB Encryption can be applied to different versions of Windows, such as Windows 11/10/8/7, etc.

Key Features:

• Divide external drive into two area: secure area, public area.
• Encrypting USB stick protects the data security.
• Having an intuitive user interface and easy to use.
• Protecting an entire USB stick directly from your hassle.
• Easily encrypt any external USB drive, like USB flash drives, Thumb Drives, Memory Sticks, Memory Cards, Pen Drives and Jump Drives.

Guide: How to Password Protect an External Hard Drive

Step 1. Download and Install UkeySoft USB Encryption
Download, install and launch UkeySoft USB Encryption on your Windows PC

Step 2. Insert a USB drive to PC and turn on UkeySoft USB Encryption
Insert your USB drive that you want to password protect and run on UkeySoft USB Encryption.

Notice: The following steps will format your USB drive, please save your data in the USB drive.

Step 3. Select a USB Drive
The program can detect your USB drive automatically. Then, select the inserted USB drive and continue.

Step 4. Set Secure Area
Now you need to set secure Area. You can see “create a secure area on the disk” in the window and move the arrow to set the size of a secure area.

Step 5. Start Creating Secure Area
After, you set a secure area, click on “Install” button and create secure area.

Step 6. Set a Password to Protect Hard Drive
You need to set a password for the secure area. Type your password two times and click on “OK”.

Please wait. Then, you are successful to create secure area in the USB drive and click on “OK”.

Step 7. Add your file/folder to the Secure Area
Now, you have set a secure area in your USB drive. Once you open your USB stick, you can see “agent.exe” application, double click “agent.exe” and enter password to open the secure area add your file/folder into. The files and folders in the secure area can be well password protected.

Method 3: Password Protect External Hard Drive on Mac

Until this time, you have known 2 ways to password protect your external hard drive on Windows. What about password protect an external hard drive on Mac? Now, we introduce you a easy way to password protect external hard drive on Mac.

For Mac users, to encrypt your USB flash drive and hard drive, you can free to use Disk Utility. Disk Utility is a software for Apple, it can backup, encryption, compression and conversion a wide range of formats. The encryption process is below.
Tips: If you want to lock and hide files & foders on Mac, you can use UkeySoft File Lock(Mac), which is a professional data encryption for Mac, it not only enable to hide data, but also can hide everything on Mac, including photos, videos, word documents, PPT, PDF, excel files, etc.

Password Protect External Hard Drive on Mac with Disk Utility

Step 1. Connect your external hard drive to the Mac.

Step 2. Go to “Finder”, and click on “Application”. Then, click on “Utilities”, you can find “Disk Untility” and run on it.

Step 3. Select your external hard drive on the left menu and click on “Erase”. Remember to back up data before using this process.

Step 4. Give a name for the drive. Then, click on “Format” option and select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled Encrypted)”. Done it, click on “Erase”

Step 5. Now, you need to set a password and enter a password hint if you want to. And click on “Choose”.

Step 6. After the process done, your external drive is encrypted and you need to enter the password to access the external drive.

Conclusion

It is necessary and normal to Encrypting an external hard drive today. The above contents are the effective ways to password protect your external hard drive on Windows and Mac. To be honest, we strongly believe that these ways above we recommend can help you encrypt your external hard drive well. Get a try!