You can encrypt a BackupOnShutdown backup with a password when you set it up, or add one later from the backup's details. A lost password can't be reset or recovered by support, so keep a separate copy somewhere safe. Password protection stays off until you turn it on.
Should you turn password protection on?
During setup, turn on "Password protection", enter a password, and confirm it. The button beside the field can generate a strong password if you would rather not invent one. Choose a password you can store safely rather than relying on remembering it months later.
Without password protection, anyone with access to the drive can open the backed-up files. You may be comfortable with that for a drive kept at home, but consider who could take the drive, open a shared folder, or find a lost disk.
The backup password is not your Windows sign-in, and it is not your license key. Buying a license doesn't unlock the backup.
Why does the app ask you to save the password?
The "Save your password" prompt asks you to keep a copy somewhere other than this computer.
"Save as a file…" writes a text file you can move somewhere safe, away from this PC and away from the protected backup. A copy that lives only inside the files you are backing up won't help after the computer fails. Tick "I've saved this password somewhere safe." only once that copy exists, then choose "I've saved it". "Go back" lets you change the password first.
BackupOnShutdown also stores the password locally under Windows' operating-system protection, so later backups can run without asking you to type it. This doesn't replace your own saved copy. On another computer, or if the saved copy on this one is no longer available, the app asks you to enter the password again.
How do you add or change a password later?
Open the backup's details. Under "Password", use "Add a password…" when the backup has none, or "Change password…" when it already has one. Fill in the fields and choose "Save password". Keep a separate copy of the new password as well.
Connect the backup locations before you change the password. A backup can have several locations, and each one may need its own decision. An unplugged drive has not taken on the new password just because the others have. Keep the old password until every location you still care about has been handled, and read the result of the next run.
"Password needed" means the backup is protected and this computer doesn't have a usable saved password. Enter it again. Do not erase the location to get past that message.
What if this location already holds a backup?
"This location already holds a backup" appears when that location was made with a different password. The three choices do very different things:
- "Use the new password for this location" keeps the saved versions and changes the password used there. You need the old password once.
- "Erase this location and start over" permanently deletes everything saved at that location and starts again. It doesn't recover files whose password you have lost. Continue only if you mean to throw those versions away.
- "Skip this location for now" leaves that location and its password unchanged. It also stops the password change from being saved for the backup as a whole.
Resolve the password question for every location before relying on the change. Then run a backup and check each location's result.
Can a lost password be recovered?
No. Without the correct password, nobody can recover the protected files, including support. Look for the copy you saved as a file or in a password manager. The app can't display or export a password it has already stored. Keep older password copies until you have checked any disconnected location that might still be using them.
If you contact support, describe the message and affected location; don't send your password or password file.
You make this choice while setting up a backup. Download BackupOnShutdown and use the 14-day trial if you are starting out. No account or card is required.