Hello, how are you? Let’s talk about cloud storage. This is one of the most modern and comfortable options to store our data. It also saves space on our devices and gives us the ability to access from anywhere. It is well known that Microsoft offers free storage through OneDrive. This is a very interesting option since the deposit is integrated into our account Hotmail or Outlook. Besides, it offers as a security measure the encryption of files, detection, and recovery of ransomware and recovery of massive deletion of files. One of its latest updates includes the Personal Vault. For that reason, we show you what it is and how to use Personal Vault in Windows 10.
Personal Vault
Personal Vault has been added to the latest OneDrive updates. This is an extra way to protect our most sensitive and confidential files. To successfully access Personal Vault, it is necessary to use some of the available authentication methods. It can also be accessed using some method of identity verification, such as PIN, fingerprint, facial unlocking or code sent by email or SMS. Although OneDrive runs with the trusted credentials of the Hotmail or outlook account, in order to access Personal Vault it is necessary to reauthenticate the login. This adds a second layer of security, very useful in case a shared computer is used.
In addition, the files contained in the Personal Vault have additional security measures. For example encryption of files at rest and in transit, monitoring of suspicious activities, detection of viruses and history of file versions. This last feature allows for recovering previous versions. It sounds interesting, doesn’t it? and best of all, it’s free. You can also use OneDrive’s mobile application to take photos, record videos or scan documents and send them directly to the Personal Vault. In addition, if you use a Windows 10 computer, the files in that area will be synchronized with a local copy on the hard drive. This section of the hard disk will be encrypted with the BitLocker system. As a result, we will have a secure area encrypted both in the cloud and locally.
As an extra measure of security, this service has a period of activity. In other words, if you go more than 20 minutes without accessing the Personal Vault, it will close. This means that in order to be able to access the files, it will be necessary to reauthenticate. Now let’s see how to activate and use this very interesting feature.
How to use Personal Vault
The first thing we need to do is log in to our OneDrive account, please login at this link. Once there, please enter your email and password.
Next, please click on Personal Vault. A wizard will be displayed indicating the characteristics of the element. Please click Next to continue.
Please confirm your Hotmail or Outlook account and proceeds to verify it.
Then choose the authentication method. In this case, I chose SMS authentication. So it is imperative to enter the SMS sent by the system. Once this is done, we will be successfully authenticated and we will be able to enter the Personal Vault.
After authenticating, we will enter the Personal Vault for the first time. You can now upload files.
In the options menu are the following options: Lock, Personal Vault settings and the number of free files that can be uploaded (only 3, without a subscription)
In the configuration menu, you can set how to enter and you can also disable the Personal Vault.
Conclusion
We have seen how to activate and use Personal Vault with Windows 10. It is a very interesting option to consider due to the security options it offers. For now, only 3 files can be uploaded for free, but it is likely that Microsoft will make this policy flexible in the future. However, if you have a subscription to Office 365 you can get the most out of it. All right, that’s it for now, before saying goodbye I invite you to check our post on the improvements apps to download after installing Windows 10.
