Vista BitLocker

Among the security enhancements in Vista is BitLocker, Microsofts implementation of full-disk encryption for protecting system files and data. But every plus has a minus, and Gartner analyst Neil MacDonald lays them bare for us—pro and con.

The benefits of deploying Windows Vista BitLocker.

If you subscribe to SA for the Windows OS, its free.

Tight integration with Microsoft GPOs and Active Directory.

Cool TPM-based Static Root of Trust to prevent tampering.

Optional diffuser algorithm.

Minimal overhead, little end-user involvement.

The negatives of deploying Windows Vista BitLocker.

Only available to SA subscribers or with Ultimate.

Requires 1.5GB boot partition.

Single volume only.

Doesnt support USB drives.

No CryptoAPI support.

By license restriction, BitLocker cannot be used where OS virtualization software is installed.

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