What does it mean that my hard drive is encrypted?

When you encrypt your hard drive, it is protected from being seen by unauthorized individuals—for example, someone who has stolen your laptop and attempts to access its data. Your files are stored in a form that cannot be read by unauthorized user, but which display normally to an authorized user.

On unencrypted systems, hackers can possibly bypass the login process to access directories and files. But on an encrypted computer, a user accessing files without authorization would only see gibberish.

If my data is encrypted, is there a chance I will not be able to access it or that it will become corrupted?

Modern encryption techniques are both sophisticated and reliable. It’s extremely unlikely that encryption software will corrupt your data or deny you access with a valid password. Of course, it’s very important that you remember your NetID password, because that’s your key to accessing your computer.

Because your device is managed by university IT services, should you somehow lose your password, you will be able to prove your identity and reset your login.

Finally, you should have peace of mind knowing that a reliable and secure data backup process like Certified Desktop’s CrashPlan means that if something catastrophic were ever to happen to your data, you have a copy waiting for you that can easily be recovered or restored.