How to protect your Folder and Files on windows

When you're saving sensitive files on your computer meant for your eyes only, make sure you've got the right tools on hand to keep them private. Whether you want to shield your brilliant startup business plan from the Pointy Haired Boss, or hide your stash of Gillian Anderson photos from the kids, there are several free tools that can encrypt, password-protect, or obscure files and folders from others who might use your computer.

Warn: Before password protecting any document, you may want to create a backup of the non-password protected files and folder in case you forget the 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 for password protecting files or folders. You need to use a third-party software program to accomplish this.

If you want to encrypt a file or folder, this can be done by following these steps:

1. Select the file or folder you want to encrypt.
2. Right-click the file or folder and select Properties.
3. On the General tab, click the Advanced button.
4. Check the box for the "Encrypt contents to secure data" option.
5. Click Apply and then OK.

Note: If the "Encrypt contents to secure data" option is not selectable and grayed out or you do not see the option at all, you likely have a Home edition of Windows, which does not support this feature. It is also possible that the hard drive where the files are located is not formatted as NTFS, as this is a requirement for the encryption feature.
Microsoft Windows XP Professional users

The steps below for encrypting the files on Windows XP Professional apply to users who are using a computer that has two or more accounts. If you are using a single account, see the other security solutions section.

1. Select the file or folder you want to encrypt.
2. Right-click the file or folder and click Properties.
3. On the General tab, click the Advanced button.
4. Check "Encrypt contents to secure data" option.
5. Click Apply and then OK.

Note: You will not be prompted to enter a password when encrypting a folder in Windows XP Pro. However, other user accounts on your computer will not have access to files contained in the encrypted folder.

Encrypt contents to secure data is grayed out

If you are using the Home edition of Microsoft Windows XP, see the Windows XP Home steps.

Show "Encrypt" on the context menu

The newest version of TweakUI also enables you to show the Encrypt option in the context menu. To do this, follow the steps below.

1. Open TweakUI.
2. In the TweakUI window, select Explorer.
3. In the right side of the window under Settings, locate Show 'Encrypt' on context menu and check the box. This option should be below Prefix 'shortcut to' on new shortcuts and above Show 'View workgroup computers' in NetPlaces.

Microsoft Windows XP Home users

1. Select the file or folder you want to encrypt.
2. Right-click the file or folder and click Properties.
3. Click the Sharing tab.
4. Check the box Make this folder private
5. Click Apply and then OK.