Backup Plus and Seagate Slim

[ame]

I just purchased a Seagate Backup Plus Portable. I wrongly assumed that, because it is a portable drive, it will have some encryption software included in its software. There is none and I need to encrypt the portable drive to keep its contents safe. The Seagate website is one of the worst I have seen. You cannot find any information and the chat facility does not work.

Can anyone help me find encryption software for my Seagate Backup Plus Portable? Thanks.

[kenji57 · Accepted solution]

Windows XP and Win 7 Professional and up have encyption built in (Right click, properties, general tab, advanced)

For Win7 Home Premium you need 3rd party encryption software.

There's plenty available and it's easy to find, so I guess you were hoping for some recommendations, but sorry I can't help with that.

[AlanM]

Yes, I am sorry to report that there is no encryption functionality with this software.

Could you help me understand what you mean, though, when you said the chat isn't working? What did you try and what happened? I need to make sure that it is not broken for others.

[ame]

I tried it right before I posted my comments (within 10 minutes of it).  I tried it both with Firefox (v13) and Explorer (v9).

I am very dissappointed with the product and the associated software. Lack of encryption completely negates the portability advantage. Unfortunately, since I learned about these after I opened and tried the product, I cannot return it to OfficeMax without paying 15% restocking fee.

[ame]

Thanks.

I wanted to use a software that encrypts the drive itself and make it unaccesible without a password. This way I can protect the whole drive, the backed up files as well as other files I want to carry and use on other machines. I am hoping someone can make suggestions on software that can encrypt the drive. Some flash drives have it part of the drive but they are small in storage capacity.

[kenji57]

I notice that theSeagate  Freeagent UltraPortable Drive drive comes with encryption software. I can't say if it is any good because I wiped all the bundled software off mine before using it.

I guess Seagate don't bundle it with the backup plus as it is more of a desktop solution so maybe they think security isn't so important and that is a shame.

I did come across this one - usb-secure . It is $29.95 for the full version, but you can download a trial version for free.

It is probably worth spending a few dollars to get something that works reliably and is supported  rather than have your drive locked and not be able to get access yourself.

[ame]

Hello Kenji57

Thank you very much for your post and useful comment. It was very helpful. In fact, I went to their site and purchased the full version of the software. It seems to work well. It was exactly what I was looking for. I am not sure why Seagate dows not include something like it in their products.

Thanks again.