Here is what we usually do when getting a freshly installed windows 10:
- Log in with a Microsoft account (as administrator)
- Set a password.
If we are using Pro version, we can then use BitLocker to encrypt data.
But what if we are using home edition? A password can prevent entry into the OS, but if one could still connect the hard drive to another computer so that the files in it could be read without knowing the password, then the data were not really securely protected.
This link, however, seems to suggest that encryption will take place in any edition of windows 10, once you log in with a Microsoft account. I am referring to this part:
Sign in using a Microsoft account that has administrator rights on the device. That action removes the clear key, uploads a recovery key to the user's OneDrive account, and encrypts the data on the system drive. Note that this process happens automatically and works on any Windows 10 edition.
So, does the password set on windows 10 protect files? Could someone circumvent the password by connecting the hard drive to a different computer or installing another copy of windows? Is the situation different for windows 7? Is the situation different for C:/(system) and D:/?