How to make a folder with a password on a laptop. How to put a password on a folder in different ways. Create a shared account

04.06.2020

IN this material We will figure out how to password protect a folder on a computer running Windows OS. It must be said that in this system there is no own function setting a password for individual files and folders, but when working with a computer, sometimes there is a need to hide the contents of a certain folder from prying eyes.

This is especially true when several users work on one PC under one (family members, colleagues at work, etc.), when there is a high degree of probability that your information, which is undesirable for strangers to see, will sooner or later be viewed by them.

Although by means operating system and it is possible to restrict access to information, for example by creating accounts with limited privileges, but there are often situations when it is only justified to password-protect one or several folders, for example, when transferring a flash drive to other hands, which contains personal data along with publicly available data. Naturally, it is better to hide personal information. The easiest way to do this is using third-party programs.

How to set a password for a folder or file using an archiver

Let's consider this operation using the example of the free 7-ZIP archiver, which can be downloaded from here. Download and install this program, which is considered one of the most effective data tools with strong encryption. Archive the desired folder or a file with setting a password, according to the following instructions:

At double click A password entry window will appear on the file, after it correct set the folder will be opened in the archiver window, where you can view the files, change or delete them.

It is possible that when working with the archive folder for the first time, it will not open. double click on it in the 7Zip program, then associate the file with this program by clicking right click on the file name, select from the menu .

In the window that opens, select 7-Zip File Manager, if it is missing, click on the button Review and select the program's executable file in Explorer. Don't forget to check the " Use the selected program for all files of this type"so that in the future the password-protected folder can be opened by double-clicking immediately.

Important! Create a strong, but at the same time easy to remember password. How to do this is described in the article “”. If the password is forgotten, access to the folder will be lost forever!

The considered method is attractive because the user receives two functions in his system for free: protection of confidential data from prying eyes and archiving information for backup.

Except this method The folder can be password protected using specialized programs, of which a sufficient number have been developed. Unfortunately, most of them are English language, so it’s worth considering one of the few free Russian-language programs of this type- Anvide Seal Folder.

First of all, you need to download the program from the developer’s official website and install it. During installation it will offer to install additional services search engine Yandex, which you can opt out of by unchecking the appropriate boxes.

By launching Anvide Seal Folder, you can add the folder or several folders required for password protection by clicking on the + icon in the program toolbar.

Next, right-click on the folder name in the list of added ones in the program window, bring up a menu where you select “ Close access"and set a password for the selected directory. Thus, you can set different passwords for folders by selecting them one by one.

You can also password-protect all directories added to the list with one password by selecting “ Deny access to all folders».

Anvide Seal Folder is simple and intuitive for anyone, even a novice computer user. The only requirement is the need to unlock protected folders when updating the program.

Choose any way you like to password-protect a folder, each of them will help you keep your personal information intact.

Share.

Since most versions of Windows do not include a method to password protect your files and folders, this page provides steps to encrypt your files and folders. To password protect your files and folders in Windows, you need to use third party program.

Advice. Before password protecting any document, you can create backup copy password-protected files and folders in case you forget your password in the future.

Microsoft Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10 users

Unfortunately, Windows Vista Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 do not provide any features to protect file or folder passwords. To do this, you need to use a third-party program.

If you want to encrypt a file or folder, you can do so by following these steps:

Note. If the "Encrypt content to protect data" option isn't selected or displayed, or you don't see the option at all, you probably have a home Windows version, which does not support this feature. It's also possible that HDD The file on which the files are located is not formatted as NTFS, as this is a requirement for the encryption function.

Microsoft Windows XP Professional users

The following steps to encrypt files in Windows XP Professional apply to users who use the computer with two or more accounts. If you are using a single account, see Other Security Sections.

Properties" .
On the General tab, click the button Additionally" .
Check the box " Encrypt content to protect data ».
Click " Apply", and then " OK" .

Note. When you encrypt a folder in Windows XP Pro, you will not be prompted for a password. However, other user accounts on your computer will not have access to the files contained in the encrypted folder.

Content encryption for protected data is grayed out

Show "Encrypt" in context menu

The new version of TweakUI also allows you to display the Encrypt option in the context menu. To do this, follow these steps:

Open TweakUI .
In the TweakUI window, select " Conductor" .
On the right side of the window, under Settings, find " Show" in the context menu and check the box. This parameter should be below "Shortcut to Prefix" for new shortcuts and higher. Show "View Computers" working group» in NetPlaces .

Microsoft Windows XP Home users

Select the file or folder you want to encrypt.
Right-click the file or folder and select " Properties" .
Go to tab " General access» .
Check the box Make this folder private .
Click " Apply", and then " OK" .

Make this private folder inaccessible

For this option to work in Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, you must meet the following requirements.

The hard drive must be formatted with NTFS and not with the FAT32 file system.
The folder you are trying to encrypt is your personal folder. For example, if your name is Bean, you should encrypt the following folder or a folder inside it: C:\Documents and Settings\Bob\

Things to Remember When Encrypting or Password Protecting Files and Folders

There is no such thing as a 100% secure file. There are many tools, utilities and instructions on how to break down encryption and passwords on files. However, the security methods listed above will protect your files from most users who might encounter them. If you are working with truly sensitive data, we suggest commercial product to protect your files and data.
Even though a file or folder may be password protected, it may still be deleted (unless the program supports the ability to protect files from being deleted). Always remember backup all your files, even those protected by passwords.
If you forget your password, unless you are willing to take the time to break it or pay someone else to break the password, all data in the file or folder will be lost. Thus, it is important to back up your password-protected files or folders, just in case.

Programs for setting a password for a folder

Easy File Locker

Easy File Locker is a free XOSLAB utility. Users add files and folders they want to protect in the list using the " Add file" and looking through their system.

Settings such as visibility and access can be changed on the fly from the tool's clean user interface - this is especially useful if you have a lot of files or folders on your system that need to be protected.

Privacyroot

Developed by PrivacyRoot, Secret Disk works by creating virtual disk, which can be protected with a password or simply made invisible to prying eyes.

SecretFolder

Instead of applying password protection to individual files, SecretFolder simply makes them invisible if the user is unable to log into the application using the specified password.

This good decision if you are hiding a birthday gift or Personal diary, but it's not rigorous enough to keep track of the really important stuff. Consider this tool best used for privacy on a shared computer rather than security.

My castle

My Lockbox is a tool that works best when the user intends to store all of their password-protected content in one place. Instead of picking and choosing individual files and folders to protect, the utility allocates one specific folder as a "lock" where sensitive content will be stored, similar to the folder lock process at the beginning of this article.

This is a great alternative to manual filing for anyone who doesn't have the confidence to do this procedure. However, its single folder focus, as opposed to the flexibility of something like Easy File Locker, makes it less useful in work environment. Also, at $29.95, the pro edition doesn't offer great value for money.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. For some reason, there are no built-in tools in Windows that would allow you to block access to a folder for those who do not know the password to access it.

At the same time, this is exactly what comes to mind for any user of this operating system. the simplest way keep some of your data confidential- just put a password on the folder where the “hidden” documents (files or other directories) will be stored.

Well, really, what could be more logical than to password-protect access to a certain directory and put there everything that you would like to protect from prying eyes (spouse, children, hackers, competent authorities, etc.). There may be many goals, but the solution seems obvious - make a kind of safe out of any folder, the code for which only you will know (and how to come up with it, read the article).

How to set a password for a folder after archiving it

However simple options solutions to this problem (built into Windows means) still no. More precisely, there are a number of methods that do not guarantee any confidentiality, but only provide “fool protection”. It doesn't make much sense to rely on them. In this same publication I want to focus on a way to make a safe of the highest security category from any catalog, but for this you will have to install an additional program in the OS.

It was originally built on open source and a priori () did not contain bookmarks that would allow developers to access your password-protected data. Unfortunately, the developers have now sold themselves to BitLocker, whose products are already closed source, which means your password folders can, if desired, be opened using backdoors. However, TrueCrypt can still be found and used for your purposes.

But first, I’ll give you an easier-to-use, but less reliable method (the competent authorities and specialists will be able to hack the directory, but your relatives and friends will not). It lies in the fact that the necessary the folder can be archived with a password, so that a person who does not know it would no longer be able to carry out the unzipping process.

You are all probably very familiar with archivers. Among them there are both paid and free versions. But in addition to its main functionality - creating archives to save disk space and speed up data transfer over the Internet, modern archivers allow you to encrypt archived data and protect it with passwords. It is this opportunity that we will take advantage of.

Let's try to archive a folder and put a password on it, first using the example of a free archiver (7-Zip), and then using the example of a paid one (WinRAR), which, however, is installed on almost all computers. I think that you have at least one of them, and if not, you can always install them by going to the official websites of the developers of these programs ().

How to archive and password protect a directory in 7-Zip

So, if you have an archiver installed on Windows 7-Zip, then in order to archive any folder (or a set of files and directories) in it, it will be enough to right-click on it and select from the drop-down context menu items “7-Zip” - “Add to archive”:

As a result, you will see the archiving settings window, where, among other settings, you can set a password to access this archive, or rather, encrypt the entire contents of the folder (while archiving it), and this code will be the key to decryption.

A feature of “archiving with a password” of directories via 7-Zip is that you can enter the created archive (folder) without entering a password, and when you try to open any file you will be required to enter it:

If you want to password-protect access not only to the files in this directory, but also prohibit viewing the contents of this folder without entering a password, then simply check the “Encrypt file names” box in the archiving settings window (second screenshot from here). After this, when you try to view the contents of the archive, a prompt to enter a password will pop up.

How to set a password when archiving a folder in WinRAR

You can also use the capabilities of the second of the archivers mentioned above to simultaneously archive and password protect a folder - WinRAR. As I already mentioned, it’s paid, but for some reason in RuNet they don’t really take it into account.

If WinRAR is already installed in Windows, then simply right-click on the directory where you want to set a password and select “Add to archive” from the context menu:

In the window that opens, go to the “Advanced” tab and click on the “Set password” button:

Here you will be asked to create and enter a password, which will become the key to your archived folder, and you can also check the “Encrypt file names” box so that no one can view the contents of the archive without entering the password (we already talked about this a little higher):

After that, click OK twice and try to enter the created archive using the password you created. If everything works, you can delete original folder, the contents of which must be hidden from prying eyes. And as needed, you will simply log into this archived and password-protected folder. It's a little stressful to have to enter your password all the time, but security requires sacrifice. IMHO ()

How to put a strong password on a folder using TrueCrypt

As I mentioned just above, there is various programs, which make it possible to implement such an obvious Windows users The idea is to block access to the folder using a password. There are quite a lot of such programs (for example, Folder Lock, DirLock, Anvide Lock Folder, File lock, Lim LockFolder, etc.), but a user who understands computers will most likely be able to bypass them. Therefore, if you want to hide something from your household or work colleagues on your computer, then they will suit you just fine.

But often something more radical is required, when hacking a password-protected folder will require monstrous efforts and computing power, which will naturally deter most potential hackers. This type of tool includes the TrueCrypt program, which allows you to set a password not only for a directory, but even for the entire computer (to completely encrypt the system partition, if you need it).

I have already written in some detail about working with her:

Unfortunately, today the developers no longer release new versions of the program, because they switched to working in BitLocker (Microsoft), but you can download TrueCrypt one of the latest versions via this link. In any case, it works great for me.

Let me explain a little what “put a password on a folder” means in TrueCrypt, because this is somewhat different from the options discussed above. In this program, you create a container from any file that is on your computer and has just been created.

It will be very difficult to discover that it is a container for something, and besides, inside this container (actually a folder with files and other directories) you can create a hidden container, which certainly no one will guess about. Hackers very actively use this program to hide, for example, their correspondence, because it is difficult to even find corrupted (encrypted) information, not to mention hacking it.

So, this very container is encrypted and decrypted on the fly (you won’t even notice it) and you can work with it like a regular directory (even more like a portable hard drive or a flash drive, because this password-protected folder is connected in Windows exactly as a new virtual disk).

That. it will be possible to copy something there, delete it, transfer it using standard operating system tools (via Explorer or, for example, Total Commander).

At the end of the work, you simply unmount the virtual disk, and no one (who does not know the password) will be able to access your data. Wonderful thing.

For all the details of working with TrueCrypt for setting passwords on a flash drive, folder, or even the entire computer, see the links given just above. And remember that absolute protection does not exist (you can provide the password yourself under pressure), but among all other methods of data protection, this program is one of the most optimal options. IMHO.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

The best ways to put a password on a folder

If you need to password-protect a folder on your computer, then you probably know that the built-in tools of the Windows OS look quite meager in this regard. Using the operating system, you can hide this file, or restrict access rights to it, but an advanced user will open your folder without any problems.

Not bad system tool restricting access to the desired folder is the use of a PFX key file that works based on the EFS data encryption system. For an inexperienced user, this type of access looks somewhat complicated, so I will describe simpler, more convenient, and at the same time quite reliable methods.

We protect the folder with a password using a file with the extension bat

Another way to password protect a personal directory is to create a bat file that will help us with this. To do this do the following:

You can see what the first method of hiding a folder from prying eyes looks like here:

Put a password on the directory using archivers

The method described above, although it does not require the use of external tools, is nevertheless quite unreliable, since an experienced user can easily open your “batch file” and find out the password. A more reliable way to password-protect a folder on a PC is to use archiving programs type WinRAR or 7-ZIP, which allow you not only to set a password for the archive of your folder, but also to encrypt its contents.

For example, the algorithm for working with Winrar is as follows:

We password-protect the folder using the PasswordProtect USB program

Personally, I really liked the way to set a password on a folder using special programs, which are easy to download from the Internet and install on your PC. Among them we can name such products as PasswordProtect, Folder Protector, Folder Lock, Folder Hidden, Anvide Lock Folder and a number of others, the features of which, in general, are quite similar to each other. Let's look at the functionality of such products using the example of PasswordProtect and LocK-A-FoLdeR, and figure out how to work with it.

To take advantage of PasswordProtect, do the following:

How to password protect a directory using LocK-A-FoLdeR

Also, the LocK-A-FoLdeR program can help us with the issue of setting a password for a directory. Its functionality is similar to the previous program; you also select which folder needs to be “password protected,” enter the password and protect your information from prying eyes.

To close a folder, do the following:

Conclusion

Above, I discussed ways to put a password on a folder on a computer, and several options for programs to implement this were also described. The most effective means in this situation is to use third-party software tools - archivers (for example, Winrar), and special applications such as PasswordProtect, LocK-A-FoLdeR and a number of other analogues, which make it easy to set a password for the folder we need. Use the tools listed above and you will be able to set a password for the folder you need without any problems.

When using a computer, some users wonder how to put a password on a folder on the computer. And it’s kind of natural, everyone has their own secrets.

At the request of a friend, I decided to figure out how this could be done. Yes this moment There are many ways to set a password for a folder! And I was convinced of this as soon as I started looking for a convenient and easy way. In this article I want to talk about some of the methods. I hope you find it useful.

The most interesting thing is that most people use the WinRar archiver to put a password on the folder, in the article we this method Let's consider.

How to put a password on any folder using programs

In the process of searching for a suitable option to set a password for a folder, I went through many programs, but I would like to talk about a few that really deserve attention and use.

Free Anvide Seal Folder in the past Anvide Lock Folder

This program deserves special attention because... she can not only set a password for a folder, but can also . In order to use its capabilities you need to download and install it.

After you have downloaded and installed it, a shortcut will appear on your desktop, launch it. A small program will launch, which copes with its functions with a bang.

The program interface is convenient and friendly, but let's figure out how it all works. To set a password for a folder, you need to drag the folder into the program or click on the plus and select from the list. In the program window, go to the folder and click on the lock icon, enter the password you created 2 times, then "close access", sim-salabim and the folder disappeared.

During the password setting process, the program will prompt you to enter a hint; you don’t have to enter it, but don’t forget the password you set.

To access the folder, you need to run the Anvide Seal Folder program, select the desired folder, click on the icon "open lock", enter the password, the folder will appear and access will be granted.

The interesting thing about the program is that after setting a password, even an advanced user will not be able to find your data, even when booting from another operating system. The only note is that the program is not intended to protect confidential information, only for private use.

Attention! Before reinstalling windows Don't forget to open access to all folders to avoid data loss!

To start and make changes to the program, you need to set a password, to do this, click the mouse by the "code lock" button on the left side of the program, and enter your login password.

The program has several useful options, to do this, go to the settings, click on the "wrench"

To do this, in the program settings go to “Basic Settings”, and check the boxes – “Close access to all folders after exiting the program”. “Forcibly close access to folders”, this function will be needed in cases where, when access to the folder is closed, the file is occupied by another application, the program will forcefully close it.

To make this function available to you you need to click on the “Configure” button and indicate installed program "Unlocker"(by default, the program is installed in the C:\Program Files\Unlocker directory, and select the program file Unlocker.exe).

How to set a password for a folder using Lock-A-Folder

Another one interesting program in order to set a password for a folder and hide it, meet Lock-A-Folder. Please keep in mind that this software is not intended to restrict access to confidential information.

This program does not use encryption when setting a password for a folder, and also hides the folder from prying eyes, this is what makes it interesting. You can enable the Russian language in the program. The interface is clear and convenient.

Download Russian.ini copy this file to the program folder C:\Program Files\LocK-A-FoLdeR\Lang

After downloading and installing, launch it. When you launch the program for the first time, you will receive a message about the need to create a master code or, in other words, a password to enter the program. Click OK and enter the password, repeat the password, enter the program. In the program at the bottom right from the drop-down menu Choose a language – Russian (Russian), for easier use of the program.

To set a password for a folder using Lock-A-Folder you you need to click on the “Lock folder” button, then select the folder to set the password and hide click OK, after selecting, the folder will appear in the list and disappear from the selected location.

You can do the same with other folders. Hidden folders are not displayed by the program when the function is enabled in Windows.

In order to unlock and the folder appears, you need to run the program, you need select a folder from the list And click on the “Unlock folder” button

Uninstalling the program if the folders are locked will not be possible until you enter the password to access the program. Deleting the program all hidden folders automatically become visible and restrictions are removed from it. The program allows you to put a password on a folder and hide it in Windows XP, 7, 8, 8.1.

How to set a password for a folder without programs using a script

On the Internet I came across many scripts for this purpose, but none of them provided security. Programs work on the principle of this script to set a password for a folder. It is based on the same password for hiding a folder from the computer, BUT in many scripts, when you enter a password, the folder is hidden, and when you enable the function in windows, the folder is visible. In the same script, everything works as expected.

Let's figure out how to set a password for a folder without programs.

Step 1. Copy the text of the future script:

Select all text, right-click on the selection and select copy

cls @ECHO OFF title Folder Private if EXIST "HTG Locker" goto UNLOCK if NOT EXIST Private goto MDLOCKER:CONFIRM echo Are you sure you want to lock the folder(Y/N) set/p "cho=>" if %cho% ==Y goto LOCK if %cho%==y goto LOCK if %cho%==n goto END if %cho%==N goto END echo Invalid choice. goto CONFIRM:LOCK ren Private "HTG Locker" attrib +h +s "HTG Locker" echo Folder locked goto End:UNLOCK echo Enter password to unlock folder set/p "pass=>" if NOT %pass%== 12345 goto FAIL attrib -h -s "HTG Locker" ren "HTG Locker" Private echo Folder Unlocked successfully goto End:FAIL echo Invalid password goto end:MDLOCKER md Private echo Private created successfully goto End:End

@ECHO OFF

title Folder Private

if EXIST "HTG Locker" goto UNLOCK

if NOT EXIST Private goto MDLOCKER

:CONFIRM

echo Are you sure you want to lock the folder (Y / N )

set /p "cho=>"

if % cho %= = Y goto LOCK

if % cho %= = y goto LOCK

if % cho %= = n goto END

if % cho %= = N goto END

echo Invalid choice .

goto CONFIRM

: LOCK

ren Private "HTG Locker"

attrib + h + s "HTG Locker"

echo Folder locked

goto End

: UNLOCK

echo Enter password to unlock folder

set / p "pass=>"

if NOT % pass %= = 12345 goto FAIL

attrib - h - s "HTG Locker"

ren "HTG Locker" Private

echo Folder Unlocked successfully

goto End

: FAIL

echo Invalid password

goto end

: MDLOCKER

md Private

echo Private created successfully

goto End

:End

The line to set a password for the folder is if NOT %pass%== 12345 goto FAIL (12345 is the default password, here you enter your password)

Step 2. Open notepad Start > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad, or just write in the search bar notepad and click on it as shown in the picture.

In the window that opens paste (Ctrl+V) the text copied earlier and save. Click File > Save As, select file type – All files, and the file name is any, adding at the end .bat, choose a location for the file, I save it to the desktop and click Save.

The file will appear on your desktop or in the location you specify.

Example: It should look like this - lock.bat

Run lock.bat, if you did everything correctly, the folder will appear - Privat. In this folder you copy anything that you wanted to set a password for and hide. Run the script file again, a window will open in which the script will ask, "Are you sure you want to lock the folder", must be entered to confirm the action, in English Y (Yes - Yes), press Enter. We click refresh on the desktop, the folder disappears.

Since our script file is on the desktop, the folder will appear on the desktop and disappear from the desktop.

For that for the folder to appear, run our script file lock.bat, enter the password which you entered in the line and press Enter, the folder appears. That's all. A simple way to set a password for a folder without programs.

The script file must be stored separately from the place where you set a password for the folder and hid it. The only inconvenient thing about this script is that you need to copy the script file back, and only then run it and enter the password. But I think these are minor things.

Set a password for a folder using the archive and WinRAR program

Most PC users have a program for working with archives, as it is recommended software For comfortable work on the computer.

WITH using WinRAR You can easily set a password for the folder, but you will have to archive it. And every time you use a folder under a password, you will have to unpack the archive itself, this is a little inconvenient, but if the folder is not big size, then these are trifles.

But this method has its place, and it is effective and popular, and this method can also be considered how to set a password without third-party programs.

Let's look at the process with an example.

Right-click on the folder you are going to set a password and select from the context menu "Add to archive…" In the program window that opens, click "Set password"

Enter the password twice, or once when checking the box "Display password as I type". After entering the password, click "OK", in the next window one more time", an archive with a password will begin to be created. If you check the box "Encrypt file names", then when you try to view the contents of the archive, you will not see anything. Sometimes this function is useful, take it into use.

To access the archive folder and file, you need to unpack the archive, right-click on the archive, select "Extract to current folder" or " Extract to .....”, enter your password, then OK.

The most important thing is not to forget the passwords to the archives; if you forget the password, it is extremely difficult to retrieve data from such an archive.

How to set a password for a folder or file using an archiver

Microsoft Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10 users

Microsoft Windows XP Professional users

Microsoft Windows XP Home users

Other solutions to protect your files and folders on Windows

Things to Remember When Encrypting or Password Protecting Files and Folders

Programs for setting a password for a folder

Easy File Locker

Privacyroot

SecretFolder

My castle

How to set a password for a folder after archiving it

How to archive and password protect a directory in 7-Zip

How to set a password when archiving a folder in WinRAR

How to put a strong password on a folder using TrueCrypt

The best ways to put a password on a folder

We protect the folder with a password using a file with the extension bat

Put a password on the directory using archivers

We password-protect the folder using the PasswordProtect USB program

How to password protect a directory using LocK-A-FoLdeR

Conclusion

How to put a password on any folder using programs

Free Anvide Seal Folder in the past Anvide Lock Folder

How to set a password for a folder using Lock-A-Folder

How to set a password for a folder without programs using a script

Set a password for a folder using the archive and WinRAR program