Password protecting folders

welshdragon

welshdragon

welshdragon

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Is there a simple way I can create password protected folders? I am using windows 7 64 bit professional. I previously used Microsoft Private Folder which worked a treat. Is there anything similiar or my straightforward for my os?
 
It's not really possible. Even the Private Folder tool you used before was not secure and can be circumvented very easily.

Generally if someone knows your Windows username and password then that's it. Game over.

Take a look at TrueCrypt though. It lets you create encrypted virtual hard disks which can be stored in a single file. Of course, again, there's nothing stopping someone with your Windows user/pass coming along and just deleting your TrueCrypt file...
 
another vote for true crypt

its a file on your hard disk that needs a password to access, and opens as a drive letter on your "my computer"

as long as you back up the file, its all good..
 
NathanE said:
It's not really possible. Even the Private Folder tool you used before was not secure and can be circumvented very easily.

Generally if someone knows your Windows username and password then that's it. Game over.

Take a look at TrueCrypt though. It lets you create encrypted virtual hard disks which can be stored in a single file. Of course, again, there's nothing stopping someone with your Windows user/pass coming along and just deleting your TrueCrypt file...
Click to expand...

Mmm, all I want is somethign simple so that if someone were to click on a folder it would prompt for a password. Quite frankly I'm surprised windows doesn't have this built in!
 
Whatever happened to the passworded zip folders in XP? They didn't seem to survive to Vista and Windows 7. Does anyone know the reasons behind them being dropped?
 
Another vote for Folder Guard here. Isn't the most secure (safe mode circumvents it, for example) but will certainly do for day-to-day use.
 
NathanE said:
It's not really possible. Even the Private Folder tool you used before was not secure and can be circumvented very easily.

Generally if someone knows your Windows username and password then that's it. Game over.

Take a look at TrueCrypt though. It lets you create encrypted virtual hard disks which can be stored in a single file. Of course, again, there's nothing stopping someone with your Windows user/pass coming along and just deleting your TrueCrypt file...
Click to expand...

That's perhaps the most annoying thing i find about truecrypt. What i do is create a truecrypt partition and remove the drive letter in disk management so that it's not visible in My Computer. Not a perfect solution though. I think someone on these forums suggested it.
 
Sharing a single Windows account amongst multiple users is almost never a good idea.

It "seems" convenient but actually it isn't and just causes headaches in the long term.

It's so easy in Windows nowadays to create multiple user accounts. I don't see why all family PC's aren't setup in this way.

Once you have a PC setup in this way, you'll be able to secure you personal files very easily just by using the Properties->Security tab.
 
truecrypt is a must really for a free app I can't rate it highly enough. The fact that your file sits inside another is even more comforting.
Haven't even tried doing whole drives.... must give it a go.
 
i just password the files i want to protect.

At the end of the day. Windows7 with one user account per user and a strong password should be enough for any home user
 
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