EFDE and EEE both slow down the disk speed dramatically. (2024)

Hello Richard,

While I cannot comment on the development plans for the encryption products, I would like to offer my team's help to investigate this issue.

In your previous post you said,

Quote
See Also
How to check if your laptop is encrypted BitLocker Deployment Frequently Asked Questions | Computers | Services | Information Services The Ultimate Guide to File Encryption Vs. Disk Encryption What Are The Risks If Laptop Data Is Not Encrypted? - Newsoftwares.net Blog
In actual fact the user experiences the slow down across the machine, including but not limited to, start-up, opening file explorer, navigating between folders, opening applications, opening files, coping files.

If your users are noticing a considerable performance impact performing the actions above, then please can you submit a support case and request that the case is escalated to HQ so my team can investigate the issue?

Please note that due to the nature of the problem, we will ask you to perform and record your findings doing various tasks on a system that has already experienced performance related issues. These tasks will need to be completed while the computer is encrypted and then again while not encrypted. This will help paint a clear picture of the scope of the issue.

I'd like to add a little more background information. Using software-based Full Disk Encryption will always have a performance overhead. This is true of all encryption vendors, not just ESET. How much of a performance impact can vary from system to system, as there are multiple factors involved. However, we expect that a computer used in a "normal" office setting will operate with little to no discernible difference to the user after Full Disk Encryption has been completed (we expect performance to be more highly impacted while encryption is in progress, but this impact will subside after encryption has completed). However, depending on the nature of the work the user does, they may notice more of an impact, such as using 3-D rendering software or during video editing and rendering.

Perhaps this ties in with your statement here:

Quote
However if we ship them something new and encrypt once they have started using it, this is when they notice the difference and complain

Could it be the user is experiencing a performance impact while encryption is currently in progress?

Regardless, in instances where a user needs the best disk performance available, EEE/EFDE supports OPAL 2.0 self-encrypting drives. This hardware-level encryption has no performance impact at all to the drive.

Have you explored this with your customers as a solution to their concerns?

Please let me know if you submit a support case, as I want to be personally involved in the investigation.

All the best,

Jay Pritchard

Technical Support Engineer III / Tier 3 Encryption Support Team Lead