How to Encrypt a Thumb Drive in Windows 7

1.
Locate the USB ports on your computer and plug in a thumb drive. Click the 'Start' orb or 'Start' button from the left-hand side of your computer. Type 'BitLocker' in the instant search field.
2.
Click 'BitLocker Drive Encryption.' A list of drives will appear that can be encrypted. In order for your thumb drive to be encrypted, it must be inserted into the computer.
3.
Click 'Turn on BitLocker' for your thumb drive located under the heading 'BitLocker To Go.' You can also encrypt your local drive or other portable media if applicable. If you do not have the ability to turn on encryption, please make sure your thumb drive is properly connected.
4.
Create a password for your thumb drive. This password will be vital in order to open the encrypted thumb drive on other machines. It is recommended that your password is at least eight characters and has a combination of letters and numbers.
5.
Back up your recovery key. You can do this by either saving the file locally or printing the file. It is recommended that you do both in case of a hard drive crash. In order to save the file, click 'Save the recovery key to a file' and choose your destination on your computer.
6.
Click 'Start Encrypting.' This will begin the encryption process of your thumb drive. The time it takes to encrypt your key will vary on the size of your thumb drive. If you have a 1-GB thumb drive, it will take significantly less time than a 16-GB thumb drive. A progress bar will indicate the percent complete. Once it reaches 100 percent, your thumb drive is encrypted and ready to use.