How to tell if encryption is turned on in Windows 8.1?

snsd

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I just purchased a Dell Ultrabook that came with Window 8. I went to the Windows store and did the upgrade to 8.1. I've read a number of articles saying that encryption is turned on by default on a clean install of 8.1 but not necessarily on an upgrade. From some of the articles I've read, I should be able to see whether my device is encrypted on the PC Info page (see attached). I do not believe it is encrypted but I don't know for sure. Any direction would be appreciated.

I've always used TrueCrypt on my previous devices but won't bother if my new device is already encrypted.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Dave
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
If the drive is encrypted with Bitlocker, it should show it there, therefore it appears that the drive isn't encrypted. Also if it's encrypted it should be marked as "BitLocker Encrypted" in the Disk Management console.

Screenshots from the following article:
Windows 8.1 includes seamless, automatic disk encryption?if your PC supports it | Ars Technica

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Depending on your system, it may not be possible to use Truecrypt to encrypt the system drive. Although Truecrypt will allow you to encrypt the system drive running Windows 8 on older machines, from my understanding it doesn't currently work with UEFI-based computers (GPT), and Truecrypt have gone a bit quiet recently (there haven't been any updates since February 2012). Although, it is listed as a feature they plan to implement in future versions.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 64-bit
Thanks for your response. In Disk Management, there is no evidence of encryption. I also see no evidence of Bitlocker on my device. It would appear that there at least some brand new devices out there that not only are not automatically encrypted - but that don't even come with Bitlocker.

What I've done is create a TrueCrypt container where I store confidential documents. It's what I've done on previous devices and will continue to do on an ongoing basis.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1
Another alternative is to upgrade to the Windows 8.x Pro version (which has Bitlocker), but it's not cheap. :(

The list of hardware requirements to support the new device encryption (in the article ARC1020 linked to) is pretty strict though.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1, 10
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