Encrypting your USB flash drive is easy, if...

If you have any concern about dragging your USB flash drive around with you because it contains some private information on it, you can encrypt it.  IF....

IF.... you have Windows 7 or 10.

IF.... your Windows 7 is either the Ultimate or Enterprise version. (Works in all versions of Windows 10)

If you have the necessary version of Windows, it couldn't be simpler.

1. Plug in the flash drive.
2. Open My Computer.
3. Right-click the icon for the removable drive.
4. Select "Turn on Bitlocker..."
5. Follow the prompts.

Okay, that was too simple.  So there must be a catch, yes??

Yep.  there are actually a couple:

Catch #1:

You can only initialize BitLocker on the flash drive using either Ultimate or Enterprise versions of Windows 7. (Or any version of Windows 10)  .... But you noticed that part above, right??

The good news is: once initialized you can use the drive on any Windows 7 machine.  And any XP machine if you add the appropriate utility app (free download from Microsoft).

Catch #2:

If there's any data on the flash drive when you initialize BitLocker on it, it will take FOREVER!!  So initialize the drive while it's empty.  Once the encryption is initialized on the drive, performance on the drive is normal.

If there's data on the drive that you want to keep, drag it into a folder on your PC, erase it from the flash drive, then copy it back to the flash drive after BitLocker is initialized.  It will save you a bunch of time.  Trust me. ....  Or pour a mug of your favorite libation and find something else to amuse yourself while it initializes.

Catch #3:

Well, this is actually just an operational note so it's not really a catch .... except if you haven't used an encrypted drive in awhile and can't figure out why you can't get into it because you forgot about this operational note.

After you connect the drive you MUST open My Computer (or the Windows file explorer and click on "Computer").  This will display all available drives.  The encrypted drive will have a coloured padlock on it.  Just double-click it and BitLocker will do its thing to make it available.

Y'er welcome.   

 UPDATE:  New Encryption Mode

BitLocker in Windows 10 version 1511 (November Update) and newer now includes the 256-bit XTS-AES encryption mode that provides additional integrity support with the improved algorithm. However, it’s not available on older versions of Windows.

You’ll need to choose which method to use. So, if you only plan on using this drive on the PC you’re encrypting it on; you’ll probably want to use the new encryption mode.

But if you need to use the drive on other PCs that have older versions of Windows (which is probably the case with a flash drive or SD card), select Compatible Mode, which uses the previous 128-bit AES.