---
title: "Passphrase Protecting Backups"
slug: "passphrase-protecting-backups-5"
tags: ["8.2", "Portal"]
updated: 2024-10-09T11:53:25Z
published: 2024-10-09T11:53:25Z
canonical: "kb.ctera.com/passphrase-protecting-backups-5"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.ctera.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Passphrase Protecting Backups

When you first connect a CTERA Agent to the CTERA Portal, as part of the initial configuration, you can specify a passphrase to protect your backups. For example, when first connecting an agent running on a Windows platform to a CTERA Portal: ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-8O1Q73VH.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A43%3A39Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A43%3A39Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=l665KVAyfWVVxs0ylH%2Bwh%2BbFKnMHZxvn%2FUWg%2B%2F3GaMA%3D) You can use an automatically generated encryption key or set your own passphrase. ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-0KMQKG5F.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A43%3A39Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A43%3A39Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=l665KVAyfWVVxs0ylH%2Bwh%2BbFKnMHZxvn%2FUWg%2B%2F3GaMA%3D)

          **Note**

          

You can only set the passphrase when setting up the cloud backup for the first time.

If a passphrase is set, then when trying to access the backups for that device, you are prompted for the passphrase: ![image.png](https://cdn.document360.io/30792387-cdcb-4791-aa14-94929bbcd3fe/Images/Documentation/image-L9D7O7QX.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-11T04%3A43%3A39Z&se=2026-11-11T05%3A43%3A39Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=l665KVAyfWVVxs0ylH%2Bwh%2BbFKnMHZxvn%2FUWg%2B%2F3GaMA%3D)

          **Note**

          

Remember to keep the passphrase in a safe place. If lost, it cannot be recovered.

You can change a passphrase, as described in [Changing a Device Backup's Passphrase](/v1/docs/changing-a-device-backups-passphrase-4).