Although there are several ways to hide your sensitive files on a computer, the one described here is uncommon among general users. Instead of just password-protecting a general folder, we'll create a virtual hard drive and then password-protect it. It's like an additional layer of security for sensitive files. You'll need Windows 10 Professional and above for this method to work. Virtual hard drives are supported by all modern operating systems. Generally, virtual disks are used for running virtual machines and for testing purposes—but—we'll use it for creating a secure storage space.
I'll recommend creating this virtual disk on a partition where Windows OS (system partition) is not installed. Ideally, make it on a secondary physical hard disk, if available.
Remember, creating such a drive does not guarantee 100% data protection. Disk malfunction can result in data loss. Always backup important files to a remote location to avoid such catastrophes.
1. Create a Virtual Disk
The first obvious step is to create a virtual disk for storing your files. These virtual drives can be attached or detached (mounting or unmounting in Linux), at will.
In simple words, attaching a virtual drive—in this context—means, that it is available in the file explorer and can be accessed through a drive letter assigned to it by the operating system. Detaching simply removes it from the file explorer relinquishing all the connections or resources bound with it.
For this tutorial, I'm using Windows 10 Professional. If you're using some other version of Windows, options and UI may change slightly.
Let's create a virtual disk, right now!
Step 1: Create a folder for your virtual drive. For the demo, I've created a folder named DemoDisk in drive F: of my computer. You can choose the path (location) and name as per your preferences. Make sure you do not create this folder in C: drive.
Step 2: Right-click on the start menu and select the Disk Management option from the context menu.
Step 3: Click the Action option in the menu, and select the Create VHD option from the dropdown menu.
Step 4: Browse to the folder created earlier and give an appropriate name to the virtual disk file. This file will have the .vhdx extension name.
Step 5: Specify the size of the virtual disk. Feel free to select the appropriate size metric from the dropdown menu. For demo purposes, I've kept the file size to 1 GB.
Step 6: Next, select the format of the virtual disk. I've chosen VHDX as it is more fault-tolerant and supports a bigger drive size.
Step 7: Finally, specify if you want the drive to be of fixed size or want it to grow dynamically—if required. I've selected the former type though you are free to choose either one. Finally, click the OK button. Depending on the size of your disk, it may take some time for it to appear in the disk management interface.
Step 8: Right-click on the newly created disk and click the Initialize Disk option from the context menu.
Step 9: Select the partition type for the new virtual disk. If you are using an old PC with legacy hardware, choose MBR, else select the GPT option. Click OK to finish the partition creation process.
Step 10: Right-click on the raw unallocated space and select the New Simple Volume... option from the context menu.
Step 11: A multi-step dialogue wizard will open. Click the Next button 2 times.
Step 12: By default, Windows will automatically select the next available drive letter for your virtual disk. If you want, you can choose your preferred drive letter from the dropdown menu. Click the Next button.
Step 13: If you want, you can assign a custom volume label to the virtual drive or leave the default one as it is. Leave all other options intact and click the Next button.
Step 14: Finally, click the Finish button to complete the formatting process.
After the formatting is finished, you can see and access the virtual drive through the file explorer. It'll behave similarly to other physical and logical drives available on your system.
2. Activate Encryption and Password Protection
Now that we have created our virtual hard drive, it's time to add auto-encryption and password to it. It'll ensure, that only you can access its content.
Here's how to do it.
Step 1: Right-click on the virtual drive and select the Turn on BitLocker option from the context menu.
BitLocker is only available in Professional and Enterprise editions of Windows.
Step 2: Apply a password to your virtual drive. It'll ensure only you can unlock it. Click the Next button after applying the password.
Step 3: In case, you forget the unlocking password, there's a recovery key to gain access to your drive. I'll recommend first saving it locally on your PC, then encrypting it, and finally uploading it to multiple cloud storage accounts. Click the Next button after saving your recovery key.
Step 4: Activate disk encryption to securely store your data. Because the drive is new, choose the first option as shown in the image above. Click the Next button.
Step 5: The next dialogue asks for the encryption mode. If the virtual drive is on a fixed drive in your PC, select the new encryption mode. If the virtual drive resides on an external drive connected through a USB port, choose compatible encryption mode. Click the Next button.
Step 6: Finally, click the Start encrypting button. Depending on the size of your disk, the initialization of encryption may take a few moments.
Now, whenever you attach (mount) this virtual drive through the Disk Management application followed by an attempt to access it through a double-click in the file explorer, BitLocker will prompt you to enter the password. Unless the correct password is not provided, the drive will remain locked and the files inside it cannot be accessed.
Remember, if you are using old hardware, do not activate full disk encryption, else it may slow down your computer.
