BitLocker: Basics¶
BitLocker encrypts the disk so a stolen drive, or one pulled from a machine and mounted elsewhere, is unreadable without the key. It's the answer to physical theft.
On a VM¶
Competition images run in VMware without a TPM, so you usually can't turn encryption on. What you can do is make sure the service is ready.
Get-Service BDESVC | Select Status, StartType
Set-Service BDESVC -StartupType Automatic
If the README describes encrypted drives, or the VM has a virtual TPM, the rest applies.
Turn it on¶
Control Panel → System and Security → BitLocker Drive Encryption → Turn on BitLocker for the system drive. Save the recovery key somewhere off the machine.
PowerShell:
Enable-BitLocker -MountPoint C: -EncryptionMethod XtsAes256 -UsedSpaceOnly -TpmProtector
Verify¶
Get-BitLockerVolume | Select MountPoint, ProtectionStatus, EncryptionPercentage