More Backblaze recovery drive info.

Yes, the encryption process for B2 Snapshots is functionally identical to the process used for Personal Backup restore drives. To answer your specific question: Yes, Backblaze encrypts these drives before shipping them to you, regardless of whether the data originated from B2 or their Computer Backup product. Here is the breakdown of how the B2 process works and how it relates to your previous concerns:

1. The Encryption is Uniform

Whether you are restoring data from a Computer Backup or a B2 Snapshot, Backblaze uses the same physical hardware (usually Western Digital My Passport drives) and the same security protocol:

• Hardware Encryption: The drive itself is locked at the hardware level.
• Security Principle: The encryption is applied by Backblaze before the drive is handed to the shipping carrier. This ensures that if the drive is lost or stolen in transit, the data remains inaccessible.

2. How to Retrieve Your Key (B2 Specific)

While the drive is the same, the location of your “Unlock Key” differs slightly because you are pulling from a B2 Snapshot:

• Where to find it: Instead of the “My Restores” page, you log in to your Backblaze account, navigate to B2 Cloud Storage, then Snapshots.
• The Key: Next to the specific snapshot you ordered, there will be an (info) or (details) icon. Clicking that will reveal the unique Encryption Key required to unlock the drive.

3. The Linux Constraint Remains

Because the drive uses Western Digital’s hardware encryption, the limitation regarding Linux remains the same:

• The “WD Unlocker” Requirement: The physical drive typically includes a “WD Unlocker” virtual CD partition that, when mounted, launches an application to accept the key. This software is only provided for Windows and macOS.
• The Recommendation: Even for B2, the most reliable method for a Linux user is to use a Windows or macOS machine (or a VM) to perform that initial unlock. Once the drive is unlocked and mounted on that temporary system, you can copy the files to a standard, non-hardware-encrypted location (like a Linux-formatted NAS or external drive), which you can then freely access on your Linux machine.

Important Note on Flexibility

When you create a B2 Snapshot restore, you are getting your data “fully expanded.” This means your files are not in a proprietary container format—once you successfully unlock the drive, the files appear exactly as they did in your cloud bucket. You are essentially just performing a local file copy once the hardware-level lock is removed.