Hi, I noticed today for the first time that there is an option to use a Smart Card to unlock hard drives which are encrypted with BitLocker. After a quick google search I can see two choices. One is a card similar to a bank card with a chip in it and the other is what looks like a sim card in a USB dongle. How hard would it be to set up the plastic card option? I have found that you can buy a USB card reader for between £30-50 but would I need a specific card and software?
Don't know if this helps, but I got a Dell Keyboard on ebay that has a Smart Card reader built in for about a fiver... I know it takes up a lot more space if you're JUST after the reader but I'm sure it can be extracted out of the thing! Personally I quite enjoy the action on this keyboard, nice heavy steal base and these things in my experience tend to be built like tanks as they're usually only supplied to business..
From my understanding, it can be used to unlock bitlocker along with a password, which is what I intend to use it for. My main concern is what type of cards and reader I need. I assume BitLocker will set it up automatically when prompted. How do I find out if I have a TPM on the motherboard?
The BIOS will say id a TPM is installed. Is this for a stand alone machine or a work computer? If you're doing it at home I'd do it via usb stick as it's a lot less hassle as you don't need to worry about generating certs for use with the smart cards
No, I don't have a TPM installed. It's for a home computer which has two encrypted hard drives and also several encrypted USB flash drives. I would rather use the card option for the hard drives and I'm not too fussed about the flash drives. I just need to know what reader and cards to buy really.
