Can the password protection be sidestepped by the following?

WD External Drives External Drives for PC
1

Hi all,

      I have a security concern. I’ve got  2  1TB  “mybook essential” drives that I’ve put password protection on.However I think that the data itself is not encrypted , right?  So if someone took the harddrive out of the external enclosure and mounted it internally as a secondary drive in a desktop pc would’n’t they then have access to the data ?

                                                  thanks in advance ,  Jim

2

Oh yes they will! The password feature is not really safe. it gives users a false sense of security. Anyone can open up the box and look at your files. The best advice…

Keep your drive in a briefcase with handcuffs around your wrists :slight_smile:

3

I don’t think that will work I think the encryption is tied to the bridge board which has the firmware. If you hook up the drive without the bridge board there is hardware encryption. The boards are not that interchangable they are frequently changed. If it worked it would have been posted. Read post 3 http://community.wdc.com/t5/External-Drives-for-Mac/Please-help-reunite-me-with-my-music/m-p/111364#M2093 fzabkar explains it.

Joe