How to Encrypt Files on Your SD Card Using Your Android Phone

Android devices come with different security options, the most commonly used is to set a password or visual pattern lock to halt or discontinue others from accessing your device.

But what if you think you need another layer of security for sensitive files?

Consider encrypting files on your SD card for peace of mind. Scrambling records on your Android gadget enables you to shield those documents from being stolen, and regardless of whether they get stolen, they would be mixed up as long as they are not decoded utilizing a legitimate key.

What it does is available the record as distorted data, more often than not to an AES 128 or AES 256 standard that basically makes the data difficult to interpret.

A major drawback of using cryptography is that it forces you to enter a password each time you would like to have access on the encrypted file. However, in certain cases wherever important personal information is to be kept on the SD card, it can be an super-proof addon layer of protection for your valuable files.

How to enable A Password On Your Phone?

If you have not secure your phone with a password, you will find that the Encrypt SD card menu will not enable you to select any files to encrypt them. To choose any files on or from your SD card to encrypt, you have to add a memorable/catchy six-character password to your device.

1. Tap on the icon known as “Settings” on your Android phone.
2. Now, Tap on icon known as “Security”.
3. Now, Tap on the “Set Up Screen Lock” tab and select the password type to want to apply on your phone from the list.
4. Next, enter a password that you would be able to remember easily.

Once you are done setting up your password in your android phone then , it will go back to the “Security” menu.

Now, you will be able to notice that the “Change Screen Lock” option has appears in the list which means that the password has now been set up on your android phone.

How to encrypt Your SD card?

1. Tap on the icon known as “Settings” on your Android phone.

2. Now, Tap on icon known as “Security”.

Security menu includes a wide range of settings and toggles that helps you to alter to change the current, and add new security elements or the settings to your Android phone.

3. Now, Tap on the button named “Security” and then on “Encryption”.

Next, You have to tap on the tab named the “Encrypt External SD card” which is located at the top of the menu to begin the process of encryption . Now we will also check for the encrypt device option, which helps to outlines the process and results of encrypting your android phone.

4. Now, We have to set a password on the SD card For setting a password on the SD card follow these instructions:

• 1. Insert the SD card into the phone and then follow the prompts that will allow or help you to set your SD card password.
• 2. Your password must be of a minimum of six characters and include at least one letter.
• 3. Confirm your password by entering it the second time and for your own safety, it would be a better idea to jot down your password anywhere or you can keep that written record in a secure location in your android phone.

After setting your new password, you have to go back to the external SD card menu Now You would be able to select the types of files you want to encrypt on your SD card in your android phone. If you choose media files to encrypt, keep in mind that the encryption process to take a while, depending on the space accquired by media files you have in your android phone.

Now, the phone will display a few pages of information, which enable you to explain the encryption process. Once, you have confirmed that you have read the details (it’s not a bad idea to actually read them) the encryption process will start.

7. Depending on the size of your SD card, the encryption process could take from a few seconds to several minutes. You can check the process by pulling down the notification area, which will show how long is remaining.

8. After the process is finished, your android phone will take you back to the home screen and you would be also able to see in the “Notifications” area that the SD card is already encrypted.

9. Now, every time when you try to access the contents of your SD card, you need to enter the password that you have set.

Encryption Explanation

Unfortunately, it’s just about not possible to access or rewrite the files on your SD card while not the proper countersign android’s secret writing algorithmic program relies on 2 major factors – the mobile device and also the countersign lose any of those, and your encrypted SD card files will be inaccessible. You can solely rewrite the SD card files by inserting the SD card into the mobile device that was wont to cipher it then coming into the right countersign when the device is powered on. The countersign or key’s keep in your mobile device’s Random Access Memory (RAM). Theoretically, every time you access a file from your encrypted SD card, Android goes through the RAM first to get the key and further use it to decrypt the file.

This is the rationale why handling encrypted information is comparatively slower than accessing unencrypted files.

Why does it work this way?

What does encryption mean anyway?

Encryption is actually classified as a high-level information storage security method.

With advancements in information security, the encryption algorithms being employed nowadays are basically “fool-proof” which means that there is no viable approach for an encrypted file apart from obtaining a hold of the key.

Hundreds of supercomputers might take thousands of years to open an encrypted file. Encryption is meant to figure this manner for one obvious reason: Security which ensures that sensitive information would not be compromised ought to it constitute the hands of intruders.

There area unit accounts of encrypted information storage media being decrypted by physical change.

This method is fairly subtle and would need extended experience to hold out, however it still does not guarantee prospering cryptography.

This method essentially involves the chilling the device by any logical suggests that attainable, in order to slow down the vanishing of data from the RAM after it is powered down.

With the RAM data intact, a computer expert could copy the data to a file and use programs that could automatically analyze it, and because the encryption key is stored in the RAM because the mobile device was supercharged up, there’s a decent likelihood that the key is retrieved mistreatment this method.

However, for this to figure, two important conditions must be satisfied – the device is powered on and it was powered on using the correct encrypted password. This means that the freeze method will solely be used if you have got turned on your device mistreatment the right countersign beforehand, but forgot the password later on with the device still powered on.

The bottom line is that forgetting your secret writing countersign suggests that hassle. It is like lockup yourself up in an exceedingly jail you designed. For this reason, you ought to take into account all factors before encrypting your SD card.

One smart rule of thumb: if it is not that sensitive, keep off the secret writing route, particularly if you have got a nasty memory.

Conclusion

While protection a file permits you to own an extra layer before somebody will access your files, encrypting provides additional protection because it hides them behind associate degree unbreakable code of nonsense.

If you’d like to keep your files private, this is the best way to ensure that the only people to ever see them will be the people you want to see them.

Hope this article helps you and Thanks for reading this article.

Lucas Hayden

Hello! My name is Lucas, and I am the creator of ursuperb.com. I’ve been writing about technology for almost 10 years now, and I love talking about tech news, reviews, and tutorials. I’m currently living in San Francisco, CA, and I’ve been blogging professionally since 2012. I love what I do, and I really enjoy interacting with people online. I believe in creating positive change for humanity, and I try to inspire others to do the same. You can read more about me here.

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