Seagate’s Backup Plus line of external hard drives are popular portable storage solutions, known for their large capacities and sleek design. They make backing up files simple by connecting to your computer over USB and come equipped with easy-to-use backup software.
While Backup Plus drives are handy for keeping your files safe, you may want the extra security of password protecting the drive to prevent unauthorized access if it’s ever lost or stolen. Encrypting the drive with a password scrambles the data so it can only be accessed by someone who knows the password.
Seagate offers a couple different ways to password protect your Backup Plus drive. You can enable built-in hardware encryption using Seagate’s Toolkit software, or use third party encryption tools. The encryption happens on the drive itself, securing all data stored on it.
Enabling Hardware Encryption
Seagate Backup Plus drives have built-in AES-256 hardware encryption that can be enabled for added security. This encryption is built into the drive’s hardware and does not impact performance when enabled.
To enable hardware encryption on a Backup Plus drive:
- Download and install the Seagate Toolkit software from Seagate’s website.
- Connect the Backup Plus drive to your computer via USB.
- Open the Toolkit software and select your connected Backup Plus drive.
- Click “Enable Encryption” and follow the on-screen instructions to set a password.
When setting a password, be sure to choose a strong one that is at least 8 characters long and uses a mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols. Avoid using common words, names, or dates.
Once encryption is enabled, you will need to enter the password whenever connecting the Backup Plus drive to access its contents. The encryption is hardware-based and compatible across operating systems like Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Using Third Party Encryption
One option for encrypting your Seagate Backup Plus drive is to use third party encryption software like BitLocker. BitLocker is the built-in encryption tool for Windows PCs.
The main pros of using BitLocker over built-in Seagate encryption are:
- BitLocker is free since it comes with Windows.
- The encryption it provides is very secure when enabled with a strong password.
- BitLocker allows encrypting the entire physical drive, not just files and folders.
The cons are:
- BitLocker is only available on Windows PCs, not Macs.
- The setup process can be more complex than Seagate’s built-in encryption.
- It does not encrypt the drive when connected to other PCs by default.
To enable BitLocker on your Seagate Backup Plus drive on Windows 10 or 11:
- Open the Start menu and search for “BitLocker”.
- Click “Manage BitLocker” in the results.
- In the BitLocker settings screen, click “Turn on BitLocker” next to the drive you want to encrypt.
- Choose your encryption method. For maximum security, select “Use a password” and enter a strong password.
- Click “Start encrypting” to begin the encryption process.
Once enabled, the entire drive will be encrypted. You’ll need to enter your password whenever connecting it to access the files. Keep the password safe as data will be unrecoverable without it.
Encrypting Individual Files and Folders
While the built-in hardware encryption offered by Seagate only allows you to encrypt the entire drive, you can use third party encryption software to encrypt select files and folders on your Seagate Backup Plus drive.
Some popular third party encryption tools compatible with the Backup Plus drive include:
- AxCrypt – Free open source encryption software for Windows, Mac and Linux. Allows encrypting individual files and folders.
- GNU Privacy Guard – Open source encryption tool for Linux, Mac and Windows. Supports file and folder level encryption.
- BitLocker – Built-in Windows drive encryption that can be used to encrypt folders.
These tools allow you to selectively encrypt sensitive files and folders on your Seagate Backup Plus drive while keeping other data unencrypted.
To use them, simply install the software on your computer, select the files/folders to encrypt, and set a password. The contents will be encrypted and can only be accessed by providing the correct password.
This gives you more flexibility than full disk encryption, allowing you to encrypt only your most sensitive data.
Backing Up the Encryption Password
It is very important to safely store and backup your encryption password for the Seagate Backup Plus drive. Since there is no built-in password recovery option, losing the password will result in permanent data loss and inability to access the encrypted contents.
Seagate recommends carefully writing down the encryption password and storing it in a safe and secure location. You could also store it in a password manager or other encrypted storage. Just make sure you have multiple secure backups, and do not lose or forget the password.
If the encryption password is lost or forgotten, there will be no way to recover or reset it. According to Seagate’s support article, “There is no way to recover a forgotten encryption password. If you forget your encryption password, you must delete the Encryption folder.”
Therefore, backing up the encryption password is absolutely vital for safeguarding your data. Losing the password will make your encrypted data permanently inaccessible. Be sure to keep secure backups of the password to avoid this worst-case scenario.
Security Considerations
While enabling encryption on your Seagate Backup Plus drive protects your data if the physical device is lost or stolen, it’s important to understand encryption has its limitations.
The encryption protects against unauthorized access to the data if the hard drive itself is obtained by someone else. However, it does not protect against attacks that target the drive while it’s in use by an authorized user. Malware or hacking could still compromise data on the encrypted drive if proper cybersecurity practices are not followed.
To get the full benefits of encryption, users should adhere to best practices like keeping software updated, using strong passwords, avoiding suspicious links/attachments, and using antivirus software. Encryption provides an additional layer of security, but does not negate the need for basic cyber hygiene.
Enabling encryption introduces a minor performance penalty – data read/write speeds are slightly reduced. For most users this should be negligible, but could be noticeable when working with very large files. The performance tradeoff improves security and is worthwhile for protecting sensitive data.
Encryption Performance
Enabling encryption causes a minor reduction in read/write speeds on the Seagate Backup Plus drive according to tests by PCMag. They found that read speeds dropped from around 114 MB/s without encryption down to 107 MB/s with AES-256 encryption enabled (PCMag). Write speeds were similarly impacted, from 114 MB/s down to 108 MB/s.
This performance impact is considered minimal, and most users will likely not notice a difference in day-to-day usage. The built-in Seagate hardware encryption provides faster speeds than using third party software encryption which can reduce speeds more significantly.
Accessing the Drive on Other Devices
When you enable encryption on a Seagate Backup Plus drive, a password is required to access the data on that drive when connected to any computer or device. This is because the encryption happens at the hardware level within the drive itself, not through third party software.
To access an encrypted Backup Plus drive on another computer, you will need to install the Seagate Toolkit software on that computer first. The Toolkit software allows you to enter the password to unlock the drive. Without the Toolkit, the other computer will not be able to read the encrypted drive.
Essentially, the encryption binds the Backup Plus drive to computers that have the Toolkit installed. So if you want to use the drive seamlessly between multiple computers, install the Toolkit software on each system. The password to unlock the drive remains the same regardless of which computer you connect it to.
If you forget the password, unfortunately there is no way to recover the data. This highlights the importance of remembering the password and keeping a backup of it in a safe place.
For more details, refer to Seagate’s instructions on using an encrypted drive across multiple computers:[1]
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some common questions about encrypting a Seagate Backup Plus drive:
How do I recover my lost encryption password?
Unfortunately, if you lose the password for a Seagate Backup Plus drive encrypted using the built-in Hardware Encryption, there is no way to recover or reset the password. The encryption is tied entirely to the password you set. This underscores the importance of keeping your password in a safe and accessible place in case you forget it. Some third party encryption tools like BitLocker may allow password recovery options.
Can I change the encryption password on my Seagate Backup Plus drive?
If you used the built-in Seagate Hardware Encryption to encrypt your Backup Plus drive, there is no way to change the password without reformatting and erasing the drive. However, some third party encryption tools like VeraCrypt allow you to change passwords on encrypted drives without data loss.
How do I disable encryption on my Backup Plus drive?
To disable Seagate Hardware Encryption, you will need to reformat the drive, which will erase all data. An alternative is to decrypt the drive using the existing password, then copy all your files off of it before reformatting it without encryption enabled.
Will encryption reduce the storage capacity of my drive?
Seagate’s Hardware Encryption utilizes a minimal amount of drive space for encryption metadata, usually less than 1% of the total capacity. So you can expect little to no effective loss of storage space after enabling encryption.[1]
Will encryption negatively impact performance?
Seagate’s Hardware Encryption utilizes the drive’s on-board encryption chip for minimal impact on performance. You can expect small single digit reductions in throughput after enabling encryption.[2] The performance impact is generally unnoticeable for everyday usage.
[1] https://www.seagate.com/support/kb/full-disk-encryption-faqs-technical-support-205983en/
[2] https://www.seagate.com/manuals/backupplus/frequently-asked-questions/
Conclusion
In summary, there are a few different methods you can use to password protect files and folders on your Seagate Backup Plus drive.
Enabling the built-in hardware encryption is the simplest option that provides password protection for the entire drive. Using third party encryption software gives you more flexibility to encrypt specific files and folders. You can also manually encrypt individual files before backing them up to the Seagate drive.
No matter which encryption method you choose, be sure to keep a backup copy of the password in a safe place. Encryption does come with a small performance cost, so keep that in mind if you are working with very large files.
While an encrypted Seagate Backup Plus drive can be accessed on other devices, any encrypted files or folders will only be readable with the correct password. Be careful not to lose or forget this password, as your data could become inaccessible.
For more tips on storage security and protecting your data, visit the Seagate support site. Thanks for reading this guide on password protecting your Seagate Backup Plus drive.