Is it possible to place a password on a folder

More Button Icon Circle with three vertical dots. It indicates a way to see more nav menu items inside the site menu by triggering the side menu to open and close. Melanie Weir. To password protect a folder in Windows 10, you'll need to open the folder's "Properties" menu. There's no way to recover a folder's password if you forget it, so make sure you write the password down somewhere.

Before you password protect a folder, you should copy the files within to an external hard drive or other source, so you can still access them if you lose the password. You can only password protect folders in the Pro version of Windows 10 — it's not available in Windows 10 Home. Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference for more stories. Melanie Weir is a freelance author for Insider, mainly focusing on the Tech Reference section, but occasionally contributing to Lifestyle and Entertainment topics as well.

In her spare time she writes plays for both stage and screen. She can be reached at melanie. Insider Inc. Additional comments. Email optional. The interface is extremely simple to use. After installation, the tool will ask you to create a master password to manage all your locked content.

All locked folders will no longer be visible on the drive until you unlock them. LocK-A-FoLder is free and is the least resource-hungry folder locker out there, making it an ideal solution for older computers.

Finally, passwords are almost always the weakest link in a security chain. A password strength checker can be of great use here. Online tools like The Password Meter and my1login are great tools to use here.

While strong password protection will be enough for most users, if you have sensitive data, then more advanced methods such as third-party encryption tools can be used to safeguard data. Beyond regular password protection, you can also use disk-encryption software that offers more robust security measures. These tools can block even the most advanced cold-boot and brute-force attacks, which try to crack passwords and encryption keys using different combinations. This free, open source software can be used on any computer, and virtually any Windows system.

It is essentially a file archiver that uses high compression and strong AES encryption. Your files are protected by being compressed and encrypted, so when you go to access them yourself, you simply need to decompress the file first. To secure your data with 7-Zip , follow these steps:. Download the latest version of 7-Zip.

Run the installation program. In your Windows directory, select 7-Zip File Manager. From the 7-Zip control panel, select the file or folder you would like to protect, and click the Add button. Choose your compression options see image below. A - Type in the name you would like the encrypted file to be named. D - Click OK. Click the Extract button. With support for AES, Serpent, and TwoFish keys, VeraCrypt is a free, cross-platform data security tool that can encrypt your files any way you require.

VeraCrypt comes with full disk encryption but can encrypt at the volume level as well. Users can decide whether they want specific folders encrypted or entire systems. The software works something like the Daemon tools that can create a virtual CD drive on your computer. Download the setup file for Windows and install the software, then follow these instructions:.

To start, you will need to create a volume — essentially an encrypted folder where your data will go. Click on Create Volume. Select Create an encrypted file container and click Next.

VeraCrypt gives you the option to create a normal, visible container or an invisible one. Click Select File and navigate to where you want to store your encrypted container. Click Save. The next section essentially asks what encryption method you want to use. Again, we suggest AES, the strongest encryption used today. Then click Next. Assign how much space you wish the encrypted folder to have. Finally, enter the password you wish to use for your volume and click Next. VeraCrypt is now ready to create your container.

Remarkably, the tool can use random mouse movements to create your encryption key and to encrypt the folder. Feel free to move your mouse around a lot because that makes the encryption key stronger — do this until the bar at the bottom reaches the end.

Then click Format. To mount your volume, choose a drive number from any one of the drives available on the VeraCrypt home screen. Click on any one of the letters in your highlighted volume name, click Select File, and navigate to the folder where you saved your encrypted container. Click Open to select the volume. Next click Mount to mount the volume to the selected drive. Enter your password and click OK. Your container is ready. Double-click on the mounted drive to open another window of the container.

You should also see the container in This PC along with your other drives. You now know what it takes to password protect and encrypt your files and folders in Windows. However, as we have established, it all boils down to keeping your passwords safe and having good security habits in place. Consider what might happen if you lost your master password, or if your encryption software got corrupted, or if the files themselves got lost. Backing up your data regularly and using a password manager can help you ensure you are never caught unawares.

Some of the utilities mentioned above such as Folder Lock come with their own cloud-based data backup solutions. Click Apply. If the file or folder remains visible in the directory, you will need to enable another setting. To see your hidden files or folder, repeat the instructions above, but click Show hidden files, folders, and drives. Although Microsoft has taken away the ability to password-protect a folder, you can still keep your confidential information private by using either a password-protected zipped folder or hiding files and folders so they don't appear in the directory list.

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How to password protect a folder.