PGP Whole Disk Encryption for PGP Desktop 10

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Symantec Products

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This answer details how to perform PGP Whole Disk Encryption using PGP Desktop 10.

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PGP Whole Disk Encryption (PGP WDE) locks down the entire contents of a laptop, desktop, external drive, or USB flash drive, including boot sectors, system files, and swap files. You can also use PGP WDE to encrypt just the boot partition or Windows partitions.

Encryption runs as a background process that is transparent to you, automatically protecting valuable data without requiring you to take additional steps.

When you encrypt an entire disk using the PGP Whole Disk Encryption feature, every sector is encrypted using a symmetric key. This includes all files including operating system files, application files, data files, swap files, free space, and temp files.

Caution: Before you encrypt your disk, be sure to back your data so that you wont lose any data if your laptop or computer is lost, stolen, or you are unable to decrypt the disk.

To protect a disk or partition using PGP Whole Disk Encryption

Open PGP Desktop and click on the PGP Disk Control box.
Click Encrypt Whole Disk. The Encrypt Whole Disk (Partition) work area displays, and you see a listing of the disks on your system that can be protected by PGP Whole Disk Encryption.
In the Encrypt Whole Disk or Partition work area, below Select disk or partition to encrypt, select the disk or partition on your computer that you want to encrypt.
Choose any Encryption Options that you want to use.
In the User Access section, specify how you want to access your protected disk or partition:

Token-based Public Key User - If you are protecting a fixed (nonremovable) disk on your system.

Type the user name or email address associated with the key, then press Enter to find the key. You can also select Add User Key. A list of the keypairs on your keyring is displayed. From the key source box, select the public key or keys that you want to use. Click Add and then click OK. Click Encrypt.
Passphrase User - If you want to protect your disk or partition with a passphrase, select New Passphrase User. The PGP Disk Assistant: Whole Disk Encryption - New User dialog box is displayed. Create a passphrase for the user and then click Finish.
Windows Single Sign-On - To unlock your encrypted disk using your Windows Account Logon, select Use Windows Password then click Next. In the PGP Disk Assistant: Windows Account Logon dialog box, type your Windows user name, domain, and password, and click Next. Click Finish.

Confirm your user access, then click Encrypt.
Click Yes when prompted to confirm the encryption of your disk.

PGP Desktop then displays a progress bar with the amount of the disk encrypted and the time remaining.

Note: You may pause, resume or cancel this process at any time by clicking the Stop button.

Remember your passphrase - it will be required to boot this computer.

You may safely shutdown the computer from the Windows Start Menu. Do not power down the system without using the Windows Shutdown option. Encryption of your system's internal hard disk(s) will pause automatically if your laptop's power adapter is removed.