The utility in Windows Vista that encrypts the contents of the hard disk. At startup, the drive must be unlocked by typing in a password or inserting a USB flash drive that contains the password. If a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip is on the motherboard, BitLocker uses it to generate keys based on system files. If any of these files have changed, BitLocker keeps the data encrypted. See Windows Vista and TPM.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Microsoft downplays BitLocker password leakage
- Microsoft downplays BitLocker password leakageSemantics..."while probable, [it’s] very unlikely"??? I think somebody needs to learn the definition of probable. Let's look, shall we? Per dictionary.com, Probable: "likely to occur or prove true: He foresaw a probable business loss. He is the probable writer of the article."...
- Discussion threads 2008-09-03
- News to know: Google Chrome; WinMobile's future; WiFi's big success; VMware
- Here are today's notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: First look at Google Chrome One day after Google inadvertently discloses the impending release of Chrome, we get to see the browser first-hand. See my gallery tour...
- Blog posts 2008-09-03
- Microsoft downplays BitLocker password leakage
- Microsoft is downplaying the severity of a password leakage issue in BitLocker, the full disk encryption feature built into Windows Vista, insisting that a real world attack scenario is "very unlikely." According to an advisory from iViZ, the password checking routine of Microsoft Bitlocker fails to sanitize...
- Blog posts 2008-09-02
- Microsoft says it's time to stop worrying about Vista - Does that make you feel any less worried?
- Microsoft says it's time to stop worrying about Vista - Does that make you feel any less worried?There are still issues...Network performance still needs work.File copy performance still needs work.The ghost town that is Ultimate Extra's needs to start giving us what we were promised and paid $100 extra for.I...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-09
- I'm sticking with Windows XP
- I'm sticking with Windows XPWhat happened to the cries for increased security?Not saying they originated with you Jason but prior to Vistas release everyone was labelling XP a leaking sieve wrt to security. Full of holes which could not be patched but required a complete redesign. With the release of...
- Discussion threads 2008-06-25
- Windows Embedded 'Quebec' due in 2010
- Although it hasn't said much about its plans for a Vista-based successor to its Windows XP-based embedded operating system, Microsoft already is working on one. Microsoft released during the first week of June a new test build of its latest Windows XP-based embedded operating system, known as...
- Blog posts 2008-06-06
- Australian Customs Guards Computers and National Borders With New Operating System
- The Australian Customs Service uses a range of sophisticated techniques to protect national borders. To back this up, it maintains about 5,800 computers, including 600 notebooks, at 93 locations. However, its IT department was struggling under the burden of maintaining its desktop infrastructure and was concerned about the security of...
- Case studies 2008-06-01
- Free COFEE opens Microsoft BitLocker
- Free COFEE opens Microsoft BitLockerI........Think I'm going Chinese I think I'm going Chinese I really think so....It's an old jokeBiggest lies:The check is in the mail.This won't hurt a bit.I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.Microsoft Windows: data security.Really, now.How long before these things breed in the...
- Discussion threads 2008-04-30
- Free COFEE opens Microsoft BitLocker
- Microsoft has released a tool to law enforcement that helps get around the encryption provided by the company's own BitLocker software, distributed in Windows Vista. PC World has an extensive article about Microsoft's COFEE -- Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor – which some 2,000 law enforcement...
- Blog posts 2008-04-29
- Sorry, conspiracy buffs, there's no Windows "back door"
- Sorry, conspiracy buffs, there's no Windows "back door"What do you expect?From the loosers at ValleyWag and the rest of the SV echochamber?They're like Hillary Clinton. Screeching and screeching lies until people believe they are true.I was actually expecting a refutationAll you've really said is that law enforcement doesn't need a...
- Discussion threads 2008-04-29
- Sorry, conspiracy buffs, there's no Windows "back door"
- Techdirt's Mike Masnick is usually pretty reliable, but he completely blew it today, hitting the publish button on one of the sloppiest, most inflammatory stories I've seen in a long time: Microsoft Gives Vista Backdoor Keys To The Police It's long been assumed that Microsoft has...
- Blog posts 2008-04-29
- Microsoft releases more Ultimate Extras - Search parties are out looking for the "Wow!"
- Yesterday I got word that Microsoft was releasing some more Ultimate Extras for Windows Ultimate users. Even without opening the email I just knew that these new extras would fall into one of two categories: Disappointing Mega-disappointing I wasn't wrong. They fall squarely...
- Blog posts 2008-04-23
- Crazy sales video rocks out: 'Gotta get me some' Windows Vista
- Microsoft can't seem to catch a break, whether from Apple's latest ads targeting switchers, or in a crazy music video celebrating Vista SP1 that was done by Redmond's channel group. Jupiter Research Analyst Michael Gartenburg pointed to this video on YouTube called Windows...
- Blog posts 2008-04-22
- TechNet Webcast: 24 Hours of SQL Server 2008: Ensuring Your Data Is Secure With a Trusted Platform (Level 200)
- The focus of this webcast is on IT professionals and the SQL Server 2008 the Trusted Platform. The webcast looks at how Contoso's IT operations embraced the new and enhanced features to make sure that SQL Server 2008 was a trusted platform. The first two parts address security, which is...
- Webcasts 2008-03-31
- Why Windows 7 might go to pieces
- Why Windows 7 might go to piecesConfusedI think you are confusing OS componentization which was the point of MinWin with productivity application packaging. These are two separate things.Delivering Windows 7's productivity apps as downloads for older versions of windows is something that has happened in every release of windows....
- Discussion threads 2008-03-20
- Want Vista SP1? Here's what to expect
- When Microsoft released Windows Vista Service Pack 1 to manufacturing on February 4, they promised to make it available for the general public in mid-March. Today they delivered on that promise, making SP1 available to Windows Vista users through Windows Update and as a standalone installer package from the Microsoft...
- Blog posts 2008-03-18
- Vista Ultimate team releases new discounts, but no new freebies (yet)
- After a week on the road, I'm catching up on a few interesting news items I missed this past week. One of them involves Microsoft's Vista Ultimate. Microsoft has caught hell -- as it deserved to -- for failing to deliver in a timely manner the Ultimate...
- Blog posts 2008-03-09
- News to know: Microsoft interoperability; Bypassing FileVault; Woz; Black Hat; More benchmarks
- Notable headlines: Mary Jo Foley: Microsoft pledges interoperability--again Reading the fine print on Microsoft's new open-source promises Larry Dignan: Microsoft's real game: Open interoperability protects its stack Dana Gardner: Microsoft on open APIs: New tune or blowing more smoke? Dana Blankenhorn:...
- Blog posts 2008-02-22
- Cryogenically frozen RAM bypasses all disk encryption methods
- Computer encryption technologies have all relied on one key assumption that RAM Random Access Memory is volatile and that all content is lost when power is lost. That key assumption is now being fundamentally challenged with a $7 can of compressed air and it's enough to give every security...
- Blog posts 2008-02-21
- (Images: How to bypass FileVault, BitLocker security)
- (Images: How to bypass FileVault, BitLocker security)Supercooled memory?Obviously, that method is for people DESPARATE to steal someone's data and will not be attempted by the average crook.However, wouldn't all this be rendered moot if Apple cleared the memory at reboot?A few things to noteInteresting read, but I'm not totally convinced...
- Discussion threads 2008-02-21
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