BitLocker protection online

I set up a computer for mainly offline use, but it now looks like I will need to go online, to add some software and if this is the case I might as well do some updates at the same time.

The C drive (operating system) and D drive (data) are both BitLocker encrypted.

If I go online but keep the D drive (data) locked with BitLocker i.e. do not unlock it with a password, will this partition be safe from potential prying eyes and malware etc. while I am online?

Many thanks for any advice.

Yes, you should be safe because the volume cannot be unlocked unless the correct password is supplied.

However, your goal should be to avoid get infected with any virus / malware / ransomware, etc, in the first place.

One other thing to be aware of: While your data should be safe, if someone gained access to your computer via malware, etc. there's nothing preventing a malicious actor from formatting or damaging the BitLocker volume, so you still want to have a reliable backup in place!

Thank you. Yes that's well thought out. I may do another backup of the D drive just to be on the safe side.

I ran the same computer for four years before clean installing Windows 10 and was lucky enough not to have any malware because I scanned all external devices before connecting them to this mainly offline computer.

This time the app I want to install needs an internet connection and this may happen again so having a good strategy in place to protect the data like a locked BitLocker and running a full security scan after I go online will help.

Thanks! I am on the move for most of the day but will look at your post again when I get back.

Thanks for your link. I have been really busy with no time to think or reply until now!

I guess there is a difference between having a locked data partition with BitLocker and an unlocked BitLocker C drive partition as well which can leave this unlocked partition more open to malware attacks etc. Ideally this computer would never go online but it is very difficult as I needed to add new software with an internet connection in order to validate it.

In fact should a reliable Internet Security suite not be sufficient to protect the operating system from malware rather than the user manually changing permissions etc.?