BitLocker helps mitigate unauthorized data access on lost or stolen computers before the authorized operating system is started by encrypting volumes on your device. Windows uses technologies including Trusted Platform Module (TPM), Secure Boot, and Measured Boot to help protect BitLocker encryption keys against attacks. See the following guide on how to enable FileVault disk encryption on a Mac device and how to fix your device cannot use a Trusted Platform Module: Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM”. See this guide if you wish to deploy MBAM Client to Computers as Part of a Windows Deployment.
BitLocker is part of a strategic approach to securing data against offline attacks through encryption technology. Data on a lost or stolen computer is vulnerable. Unauthorized access can occur through software attack tools or by transferring the computer’s hard disk to another computer. See the following guide on how to enable Bitlocker via the Local Group Policy Editor and the Group Policy Management Console.
BitLocker blocks hackers from accessing the system files or from accessing your drive by physically removing it from your PC and installing it on a different device.
Part A – How to view BitLocker disk encryption status
While setting up BitLocker and encrypting your disk you probably want to check and view the progress and see the current status, as it can take quite a long time depending on the size and speed of your disk. In this guide, I will discuss how to use the following commands in Windows 10.
You need administrative rights to perform these actions. For more related BitLockers commands, see this link.
manage-bde -status or Get-BitLockerVolume
1: To Check Status of BitLocker in Command Prompt
Run the following commands below with elevated command prompt as shown below.
manage-bde -status
manage-bde -status C:
2: To Check the Status of BitLocker in PowerShell
We can use PowerShell to view the status of BitLocker by running the below command below. Administrative privilege is also required.
Get-BitLockerVolume
Get-BitLockerVolume -MountPoint "C:"
There are numerous commands you can run with BitLocker Drive Encryption Configuration Tool, run this command for possible options.
manage-bde /?
Part B – Determine if BitLocker is enabled
You can check if BitLocker Drive Encryption is enabled through the GUI in the Control Panel. Nonetheless, Windows Settings and File Explorer.
Control Panel\System and Security\BitLocker Drive Encryption
Launch Windows Settings and search for BitLocker to check if it’s enabled.
Click on Manage BitLocker, this will automatically open the Control Panel BitLocker Drive Encryption window.
You can also check BitLocker’s status using File Explorer as follows.- Right-click on the Drive and select “Manage BitLocker”. This will automatically open the Control Panel BitLocker Drive Encryption window.
If you wish to validate that the settings applied to your encrypted volumes are the same as those set in your GPO, you can launch PowerShell and run the command below. Open an administrative PowerShell window, and type in the following;
Get-BitLockerVolume | FL
Windows PowerShell Scripting – Format-List (fl) Format-List, or FL for short, allows PowerShell to control the output of your main script. Whenever the presentation of information is important, pipe the script’s output into Format-List (or Format-Table).
Lastly, you can also determine if BitLocker is enabled via the Disk Management interface (diskmgmt.msc). To open Disk Management, run diskmgmt.msc from the Windows Search button or the run command below.
Open Disk Management to view BitLocker Encrypted drives by reading their descriptions. If you want to view the BitLocker Recovery information, see this guide “fix missing BitLocker Recovery Tab.
I hope you found this blog post helpful. Please let me know in the comment session if you have any questions.
