Bitlocker

So, what are your guys' thoughts on Bitlocker? Is it slower but safer? Do you use it? Is it worth the time to encrypt and decrypt files for the extra security, and do you use on on your USB devices?

Oh, and is there a way to put certain unencrypted files on a Bitlockered USB drive, like a contact file if it's lost?

 

I'd blow bitlocker away and use www.truecrypt.org.

TC is good, free, and trusted. It really should be in use on all portable devices.

 

*shrug* Bitlocker is fine for use on the primary drive.

I've not seen any noticeable difference in speed using bitlocker or not using it; I'm sure there's some measurable performance degradation, but what counts for me is real world usability not some performance metric you have to go looking for to find.

Don't know that it better or worse than PGP or Truecrypt; my work laptop uses PGP and I use Truecrypt on a USB drive I use for backups of my work laptop.

I wouldn't use Bitlocker on portable drives or flash drives since there's no guarantee the other systems you use can access them. With Truecrypt there's a method to have unencrypted space on the drive that contains the Truecrypt application and other stuff plus an encrypted volume you can mount.

 

TrueCrypt can also 'hide' itself making the drive appear as empty and never used if that kind of stealth is needed.