Microsoft BitLocker Reviews

We use it for encrypting data and storage for the most part. We keep it up to date in terms of the version.

It basically brings us in compliance. We are required to encrypt the handling of data, the transmission of the data, and storage of the data. So, when people are working with the data, and they download it to the laptops, we can safely say it is encrypted at that point to meet our requirements. It is pretty transparent to the end-user since the encryption is done without them really doing it.

Our need was to protect our portable devices. So, our thumb drives get automatically encrypted. Any attached storage gets automatically encrypted for our laptops in case they get lost or stolen when people travel.

I liked the way it works with our Microsoft tools. As we roll out Intune, we can validate if the device has been encrypted, and if not, we can push it down. It is pretty simple to deploy. 

Their interoperability with our tools, which are the Microsoft tool, can be improved. It needs to be geared towards more of the wraparound of the zero trust. There are solutions we're looking at that do encryption plus X, Y, and Z. So, we're looking at the ability to wrap around the product with other features.

The biggest one for us is revoking access. So, even though someone downloads something to a device, we want the ability to cloak that device or data and bring it back or make that data unusable for that person. Currently, BitLocker doesn't give us that ability. It basically encrypts it. We're seeing if identity management or IAM allows us to do that. We're kind of looking at third-party software that does that for us.

Usually, Microsoft sees what other third-party companies do and then either adopts it or buys the third-party company, and that's kind of what we're looking into. That's our need. It'd be a lot better if it was all under one mirror or one window, instead of having a couple of different vendors working on it. So, if Microsoft could solve that, it would be awesome. They should look at the third-party enhancements that people are doing, and then take the encryption a step further by adding those features to BitLocker. Microsoft has different components. They have identity management, but is it tied to encryption? BitLocker is mostly tied to devices, but it would be best for me if I get a piece of data and I am able to encrypt it all the way through using BitLocker. Currently, BitLocker is basically tied at the device level instead of the data level.

I would just like them to look at what other people are doing in terms of encryption as a whole and offer the encryption not only tied to the device, but also to the file level. They should add features on that in terms of access control and reporting. We should be able to see who has access to it and who has touched a file. So, we're going towards the zero trust model and the zero trust reporting. It is a "We don't trust anybody" type of deal. So, it is not just the device, it is the data. They should try to wrap it around the data at the file level and not at the device level.

I have been using this solution for about three years.

So far, so good. We haven't had too many problems with managing the keys or anything else. Probably the only concern is that we manage it. Individuals are not doing it themselves. The other thing is as we take over companies or merge companies, or the other way around, we have to make sure that we get those keys to the kingdom per se. So, we always got to look out for that as well.

So far, so good. Mostly, anything we deal with Microsoft is pretty scalable. Again, it is kind of tied to devices, but you can essentially manage it, which makes it simple.

In terms of its usage, we force it on everybody, so it is non-binding. No matter who you are in a company, if you have a managed device, it is going to be encrypted. It is a requirement, so it is being used extensively. Its usage will increase as the number of employees increase.

I don't think we've had many issues with them. We push it through our SolarWinds product, so for most of the issues we've had, we probably had to deal with SolarWind's side to make sure that everything was pushed correctly. We didn't go to the Microsoft side. Our software vendor might have dealt with Microsoft directly but not us.

The only solutions that we've had in place were standalone encrypted thumb drives. We had not rolled out BitLocker until then, so we had a need to encrypt thumb drives. We had bought Aegis thumb drives that came encrypted. After we got the encryption rolled out, when someone connected a thumb drive, it was automatically encrypted, or they couldn't store data on it. Once we went to that method, we didn't purchase any more Aegis encrypted thumb drives.

We have it on-prem, and we have a couple of devices in the cloud, but we are a hybrid environment. Our main thing was to get it on our traveling laptops and protect them. We push it through another vendor, not Microsoft. We push it through another SolarWinds vendor, and then we push it down. The only thing that we've had problems with was that the encryption level wasn't as high as we needed it by default. So, we had to do some tweaking to get the correct encryption level that we wanted. It is all default. So, you have to be aware of how you deploy it. If you deploy it one way, it doesn't really fully encrypt the machine.

It took days only because it was a slow rollout. It was intentionally a slow rollout. It didn't take long to do it, but we just wanted to make sure it was done right and correctly.

We just implemented it in-house. In terms of maintenance, it is a small staff. We rely on our software to help us with the patching and everything. We have reports that kickback to us. If for some reason, encryption was turned off or encryption wasn't deployed correctly, we'd get reports sent to us. So, a lot of stuff is automated in terms of monitoring the compliance to encryptions, and our response to that is pretty fast. We just manage it with our current staff. We don't have anybody directly tied to just doing that.

I don't know the costs. In terms of Microsoft licensing, we are at E3 on the business, and we're in the process of pricing out and moving to E5. So, a lot of this is included within our licensing agreements.

If you don't implement this, you have to implement something else. You have to have some type of encryption. In the past, people wanted a layered approach to security. They wanted to have different vendors, and they wanted it to be able to have that overlap of vendor support on security, but the reality is that everybody looks to Microsoft. If you look at the SolarWind attack, who do they go to help resolve it? They went straight to Microsoft. Therefore, we're getting away from that thought process of divide and conquer. We're just trying to align everything up with a single pane of glass so that we can build on our Microsoft tools. In the past, we would have resisted being tied to one security.

I can't rate it any lower than eight out of 10. The only reason why I don't rate it a 10 is that they can do more with it. It is good at what it does, but it needs to do more. It is never going to get a 10 from me because it is never going to be perfect, but there is more to do. 

We use the solution for our endpoint. There were recovery issues because of concrete tools, operations, and recovery tokens. There was a recovery case during the system crash. You can recover the system and find out the lost data.

Microsoft BitLocker is very easy to manage and is stable. We experience very few crashes with different endpoints. We operate in a large institution and require a solution that seamlessly works across diverse systems.

Some non-enterprise security solutions offer more comprehensive tracking capabilities for stolen devices beyond device protection. They enable location tracking of the device once it connects to the internet. Additionally, they provide enhanced stability, addressing instances where encryption fails to complete and rollback attempts become problematic.

I have been using Microsoft BitLocker for a year.

The product is stable.

The solution is scalable. There are some devices where the system crashes during encryption. 

I rate the solution's scalability an eight out of ten.

The initial setup is straightforward.

We have local partners and OEMs providing support for BitLocker deployment. The technical expert handles the deployments internally.

Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

We use Microsoft BitLocker for hard drive encryption.

The product helps us to encrypt local devices. It allows us to protect devices against theft and unauthorized access.

Microsoft BitLocker's most valuable features are stability and simplicity in terms of usage.

They could improve cloud integration regarding attribute and encryption key management.

We have been using Microsoft BitLocker for five years. At present, we use its latest on-premises version.

I rate the product’s stability a ten out of ten.

We have Microsoft BitLocker installed on 5000 devices in our organization.

We have an in-house technical support team.

We attempted to use some other products before. But only Microsoft BitLocker proved suitable for our business requirements.

We deploy the product in the client’s environment using group policy configuration. It takes a week to complete the process.

We already use Microsoft products, and Microsoft BitLocker is an add-on product that is free of cost for us.

I rate Microsoft BitLocker a nine out of ten.

We use the solution for data encryption. 

The tool has improved the startup of our notebooks and end-user devices. 

I would like to see improvement in the solution's central management of passwords. Currently, we install it separately. 

I have been working with the solution for more than one year. 

I would rate the tool's stability a nine out of ten. 

I would rate the solution's scalability an eight out of ten. My company has more than 3000 users for the tool. 

The tool's setup is quite difficult I would rate the tool's setup around three to four out of ten. We had to deploy the solution on thousands of machines. Hence, we implemented it in phases. 

The solution is priced low. I would rate the product's pricing one out of ten. 

I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. The solution is a Microsoft product and Microsoft should be able to help rectify any issues in the future. It has a similar integration as that of Microsoft. 

It is easy to use. It is usually easy to recover someone's privacy. The manageability is much easier than McAfee. I think that Microsoft is a leader in this area. We are in the Microsoft school so our judgment of McAfee will be a little bit unfair as we recommend Microsoft all the time because of the easy manageability and support. I think that McAfee is designed for a different customer and every time we open a ticket with their support, it takes a very, very long time. The main difference is just the manageability and support. In terms of the solution itself or the functionality, I know that McAfee is very strong, but manageability and support, for us, is much more important. It strengthens the solution for us.

We've been using this solution for almost six years.

The solution is very stable. I think that it's easy to start.

We tested with 300 users to date. The maximum deployment with it is for 300 users. That is not too much, but we are trying to scale it up. I don't think that we'll have a problem because it's the count for minimum deployment for Microsoft to support is already 5,000. I think that it can scale up to 5,000 without much hardware needed.

It is usually based on the number of computers and how this will be leveraged by the user. A normal project takes from one to two months, depending on the numbers. These numbers are read on the different departments and different mindsets of the users, in order to convince them to start correcting their data and explain to them that you will force a policy that will have an impact on their laptops. Afterward, encourage them in how this is chiefly for them. Usually, it takes a month or two months maximum.

It's not about pricing, because we are working with Enterprise companies that already have Windows Enterprise, so BitLocker comes already included as a Windows feature. It's free for Enterprise users. The price is only for deployment. The customer will pay for McAfee, however.

We are a partner for Microsoft here in Saudi Arabia, and one of our customers is interested in deploying Microsoft BitLocker to secure his computer devices and laptops, to encrypt all his data for hard disks, etc. I am already moving to read some documents and have some comparison between McAfee and BitLocker in order to convince the customer to install Microsoft BitLocker because from our insight we see that Microsoft BitLocker is much better than McAfee. That's why I was in need a document just to have a comparison between McAfee and Microsoft BitLocker.

From my point of view, Microsoft is much easier than McAfee. It is easy to deploy and integrate with Active Directory. Then, you have much more integration capabilities than McAfee. Microsoft is stronger and the integration between Microsoft ESP and all other Bit solutions is much better than McAfee. McAfee is a standalone solution right now that will not be efficient for the protection that we are aiming for. We need protection that integrates with all kinds of malware protection solutions. I think that Microsoft BitLocker is much better than McAfee.

If anyone is looking for integration solutions and has a requirement related to integration between Active Directory and integration solutions, I think that he needs to strongly go to Microsoft BitLocker. If integration with Active Directory is not mandatory for him, I think that there are many other solutions in the market that equal or are much stronger than Microsoft.

I would give this solution an eight out of ten. In order to make it 9 or 10, I think that Microsoft would need to work on the desktop optimization deck that is coming with Microsoft to make the deployment much easier than what it is right now. Deployment is okay. As a partner, we can work on it without any issues, but some customers face issues deploying it by themselves because of the difficulty of understanding all of the requirements. The solution is very good and it is manageable for partners, because of their technical value or technical effort. For the level one customer help desk or administrator, however, it's not as easy. They should work on this part and make the deployment much easier.

We use the solution for laptops assigned to sales in case it’s lost or stolen.

The solution is included in Windows 11.

The product must improve the centralization of keys. BitLocker is not perfect. Sometimes, we have problems when Windows tries to start. It shows that the key is not available.

I am using the solution currently.

It is a stable solution.

We check the Microsoft forum to resolve issues.

The initial setup is not complex.

We can activate the product at no cost. We're just taking advantage of what is included in Windows.

We have individual files when IT support prepares the computers. We have the information to replace an SSD or increase the size. We need to remove BitLocker, change the drive, put it back, and encrypt it again with BitLocker. We can check the way the encryption is used because it is centralized. It is good to test the features and centralize the encryption. Overall, I rate the tool an eight or nine out of ten.

We use BitLocker to assure that our confidential data is protected.

As a Microsoft shop, we find this product easy to use. It's not a problem.

The pricing should be improved.

We have been using Microsoft BitLocker for several years.

In the past, there had been some issues. However, they've fixed them. The stability has drastically improved.

BitLocker is a scalable product.

We do not really need the technical support.

The initial setup is straightforward.

For reasons unknown, Microsoft products seem to be getting more expensive.

We are a Microsoft shop and tend to use their solutions.

Overall, BitLocker is a good product and I recommend implementing it.

I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

We encrypt devices and disks that have the potential to be taken off-site, such as laptops, tablets, USB sticks, and USB disks. Basically, we encrypt any medium that has to be taken off-site. If we're giving out a USB stick to somebody, it is BitLocker encrypted. If somebody has to use a memory stick, the only way it gets out is if it is encrypted. 

We use the version that is native to an operating system.

It is free and native to the OS. We don't have to worry about upgrades or maintaining the product. You encrypt the disk, and you save the recovery key. That's it. The person puts their password in, and after that, it is up to them. If they forget their password, they have to bring it in to get it unlocked.

User profiles can be improved so that people can create their own passwords. It has one password per machine, which is a problem. We would prefer each user to have his or her own boot password. Each user can have a username and password or biometrics, such as fingerprints and iris scanner, integrated into the boot process, but I really can't see that coming anytime soon, if ever.

I have been using this solution for six or seven years.

It is stable.

It doesn't really need to scale. You use it as you need it and manage it with group policies. 

There is no need for support.

We've used a few different disk encryption products, and we've kind of settled on BitLocker because it is native to the operating system. It is simple, and there is no maintenance on it.

We also use Symantec at the moment, but we are retiring Symantec. We had trouble getting all the machines back into the office to change the disk encryption. We have a few left with Symantec. With Symantec, the version that we had was pretty old, and I wasn't sure if it would actually even work with some of the later builds of Windows 10. In terms of maintenance, with Symantec, every time there is a new build of Windows 10, you either have to defer the update while they update with Symantec, or you can install it and hope for the best. It is not a very satisfactory situation where you might have to wait six months before you can go up onto the latest build of Windows.

It wasn't complex. It just took me a while to figure it out and make it do what I wanted it to do. Everything is documented, and you just follow the documentation.

It is deployed on all new computers, and it is part of the build. It doesn't take very long. It takes only 10 or 15 minutes. While the disk is encrypting, you can do other things.

I deployed it on some of the computers. BitLocker is maintained as part of the operating system. If there are any updates to Bitlocker, they come out as operating system updates.

It is free. It is enabled as part of the operating system. Once you have an operating system license, you're licensed for Bitlocker.

I would recommend this solution. It is quick and neat, and it does the trick.

I would rate Microsoft BitLocker a seven out of ten.