How to turn a USB flash drive into a secure login key for your PC

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Simply having a password set in your PC in Home windows 11 isn’t a positive solution to cease hackers from bodily getting access to your PC — sure, it may be bypassed. However there may be one other safety measure you possibly can take.

For an additional layer of safety, you possibly can flip a humble USB drive right into a safe key that can lock and unlock your PC, making it a lot tougher for intruders to realize entry. Right here’s how…

What to do…

Home windows 11 has a facility to arrange a safe USB key. However I choose to make use of the free third-party app USB Raptor, which provides me a bit of extra management over how my key works.

Get a USB flash drive with none recordsdata loaded on it. I’m utilizing the SanDisk 16GB Extremely Match, which price me $9 on Amazon.

Obtain and set up USB Raptor and launch the app. It'll launch in configuration mode with three steps to finish to arrange your safe key.

Step 1: Select an encryption password and write it down someplace so that you don’t overlook it.

Step 2: Plug in your USB flash drive and select the right drive letter it was allotted. Now click on Create k3y file.

Step 3: Earlier than you allow USB Raptor, you’ll need to create a backdoor login in case you lose your key.

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Dominic Bayley / Foundry

Create a backdoor login

Within the top-right nook of the app click on within the field subsequent to Superior configuration.

Click on on Lock options within the high menu. Navigate right down to Backdoor entry.

Now click on Generate RUID file. It will create a file in your desktop that can assist you to bypass the lockscreen in the event you overlook your password and the USB secret's eliminated out of your PC.

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Dominic Bayley / Foundry

Professional tip: Should you’re not eager on utilizing USB Raptor, there are quite a few different safety apps to select from. Two others embrace Predator and Rohos Logon Key Free. Whereas a few of what you are able to do in these apps is free you'll have to pay to unlock a full suite of options.

Extra issues to notice:

Make sure you label your USB flash drive safety key so that you simply by no means combine it up with different drives you personal.

Use a USB drive with a quick learn/write velocity to make your login faster.

Earlier than you create a key, again up your information to make sure you don’t lose it.

Should you’ve adopted the steps above, it is best to now have a safe key that can make your PC safer — in addition to backdoor entry in case something goes flawed. Should you don’t need to use your key, merely deactivate it within the app.