OSU-owned laptops used by faculty, staff, and students must, whenever possible, use whole disk encryption to protect data stored on these devices. There are a few products, for example on some high-end ultrabooks, that perform data encryption at a hardware level. However, almost all Windows laptops running Enterprise versions of Windows 7 or 8 can support the use of BitLocker. Mac OS X Lion or later can support the use of FileVault 2. Both of these products perform whole disk encryption.
To see if your Windows laptop has already been encrypted, do the following:
- Go to the Start button, and in the Search box type ‘BitLocker’. Click ‘BitLocker Drive Encryption’ when it appears on the Start menu.
- You will see the C: drive listed. If to the right it says, “Turn off BitLocker”, then the drive is already encrypted. If to the right it says, “Turn on BitLocker”, then you should contact CBC Computer Support. Please note that you can turn on BitLocker yourself, but if we help, we can show you how to store the recovery key securely.
To see if your MacBook or Mac Air has already been encrypted, do the following:
- Click the FileVault tab in the Security & Privacy pane of System Preferences.
- If you see a button that says “Turn Off FileVault..” your Mac is already encrypted. If you see a button that says “Turn On FileVault..” then you should contact CBC Computer Support. Please note that you can turn on FileVault yourself, but if we help, we can show you how to store the recovery key securely.
- For older versions of OS X, you should contact Computer Support for assistance.
See this support doc for more information about FileVault.
If your laptop is already encrypted, do not decrypt it. If you possess a paper copy of your recovery key, do not tape it to the body of the laptop, or otherwise store it together with the laptop.