How To Lock A Folder And Keep It Private title explains it

[CyrusX 0]

Any way to do it that doesn't involve compression?

Hi,

 

 

If you are using a shared computer and do not want to allow other users to access your files, and you have Windows XP Professional or Windows NT 4.0 installed on your computer then the following procedure may help you: (The procedure for Windows XP 2000 Server or Windows XP Server 2003 is different.)

 

Requirements: (You have to log on as an administrator or as a member of the administrator group to perform the following operations.)

You must have NTFS file system on the target hard drive which your folder(s) are stored in. If you are not sure which file system you have on that hard drive then right click the drive from My Computer and then click Properties from the menu (see Figure. 1) and proceed. If not you can easily convert your desired FAT or FAT32 drive to NTFS using the "convert" command from the command prompt. (More help on this command is included in your Windows OS Help and Support Center.)

 

 

Figure. 1

 

Right-click the folder you want to set as private and then click Properties from the menu.

Click the Advanced button and then check the box which says: "Encrypt contents to secure data" (see Figure. 2) and then press OK. Press OK again.

 

 

Figure. 2

 

If you have followed up the procedure correctly the target folder will show up in green and you are done. Now your folder will not be accessible for other accounts on the same computer such as guest accounts or other administrator accounts. Nobody except you will be able to decrypt, copy, modify, open, or execute them.

At the end I want to share a common problem with you that I faced it once and I lost all my own encrypted short stories, articles, and poems.

 

Do not forget to decrypt your files or save a backup to a FAT or FAT32 hard drive, or write them to a portable media, before you decide to install a fresh copy of Windows.

 

I wish you a great time.

 

Regards,

 

CyrusX

 

(The original material and photos offered here do not provide any guarantee for the user. It is a little note just to help others. Any possible damage caused by this procedure will be the user's own responsibility.)

Edited August 26, 2008 by CyrusX (see edit history)

[CyrusX 0]

I cant find my files..

 

How To Lock A Folder And Keep It Private

I've downloaded programs which can hide and lock your folders/files.

I installed them at that same day, and then lock some of my files and folders.

 

I've deleted some of the programs, and then when I looked at my files

I cant seem to find them. I already uninstall and deleted all the remaining programs but still I cant find my files.

 

When I checked my main folder (I mean where my locked/hidden folders were) the size of it is still the same but when I opened it the folders weren't showing.

 

I hope you understand what I said. ..Its kinda confusing I know..Please help me. Email me. I need to find my files.

 

-reply by lehteb

Hi,

 

Using third-part software to provide file and folder-level security..Mmm.. It's not the solution I usually recommend to users. What I actually recommend is what I described in nearly full details in this same topic. But to offer you some solution I will try to open a path to your lost files if you are using Microsoft Windows 9.x, Me, 2000, NT 4.0, XP (all four editions), Windows 2000 Server, or Windows Server 2003. (I know how it feels because I lost my files once dude.)

To begin, please go to Start>Run and then type "cmd". The Windows command prompt appears.

Then change the directory with "cd" command and enter the exact path to your desired destination when you think you lost your files and press Enter.(If your files were/are in a different volume rather than the default root then first change the hard drive and then proceed with the instructions.)

At the prompt type

dir /a

first and press Enter(or Return key) to list the main directories along with the hidden files in your folder. If it scrolled up use a pipe like

dir /a | more

to see the directories page by page. If you cannot see your files go to the next step.

Type

cls

and press Enter to clear the screen output and then type

attrib -h /S /D

without braces and press Enter. The attribution of all hidden files in the directory will be set to visible. Try again using "dir" from the command prompt or simply close it and browse with Windows Explorer to see if your files are there again. (more help on command "attrib" is available by typing

help attrib

in the command prompt.)

If you are still unable to see your files then open command prompt again. Change the directory to the desired destination and then use

attrib -s /S /D

to make all super-hidden system files visible. (This action is not recommended for Windows beginners.)

If it does not solve your problem again you might be infected by a virus. The settings are still available from the Windows Registry but it does not recommended if you are not an advanced user of Windows.

Let's help each other. Chekhov once said: "Happiness does not and should not exist. If life has some meaning it is not to reach happiness. But it is to do good things for people as much as you can...".

 

 

May God bless your soul.

 

 

Regards,

 

 

CyrusX

Edited August 26, 2008 by CyrusX (see edit history)

[innosia 1]

there is a freeware name TrueCrypt see http://truecrypt.sourceforge.net/
it can encrypt all your harddrive!! Its performance is good and fast.

The steps are
1. Create a large file as storage, if you create 1 GB file, you have a storage of 1 GB
2. The created file (*.tc) must be mounted using TrueCrypt and it becomes a new harddrive on your computer
3. Double click this harddrive, and you can move file into it, delete, play and copy or do anything that you can do on a real harddrive
4. If you dismount this drive, the drive is gone from your computer, all you have is that 1 GB large file. This file cannot be opened using any other tools because it is encrypted. The method of encryption is different from what is used in text base encryption, it in fact encrypt the header of the allocation table, while only a password can decrypt this allocation table, thus your file when stored in this 1 gb file is not stored based on sequence of free space, but it is randomly put inside.

[travstatesmen 0]

Thanks for adding that part about NTFS permissions and encryption, CyrusX. I was going to do so myself, but you have done the subject justice. I would also add that having a USB thumb drive or similar removable storage device is also a good way to protect valuable data. That way you don't keep your information on the local computer anyway, so it is away from prying eyes. This method is also useful for when using publicly accessible computers, such as at a library, internet cafe, etc. Just make sure that when you connect the device, it is not automatically shared, otherwise some unscrupulous admin on the network can access and copy your files while the device is connected. I personally use my 2GB miniSD card from my smartphone to store any critical, sensitive files, and can connect to it using an inexpensive USB card reader that I plug into the USB port when I go to an internet cafe. This also contains an encrypted copy of my password database, so no matter where I am, I have access to all my passwords. Also, I keep my Internet favorites/Bookmarks on it so they are portable too. Kinda handy when you're away from your home computer a lot.

[minimcmonkey 0]

One way to make a compressed folder idiot proof (i dont know if this works on anything but windows)Rename the compressed zipped folder, and remove the .zip bit, so that windows doesnt recognise it, it will no display a corrupted file, to get it back, rename it and add the .zip bit back.I cant guarantee this will work, dot try it on anything important, and dont blame me if it goes wrong!

[rvalkass 5]

Is it just me, or is all this way too complicated? On Linux, a simple CHMOD to 700 will do the trick Only you will have access to it, and no other user will even be able to see it.

One way to make a compressed folder idiot proof (i dont know if this works on anything but windows)Rename the compressed zipped folder, and remove the .zip bit, so that windows doesnt recognise it, it will no display a corrupted file, to get it back, rename it and add the .zip bit back.

That won't work on Linux/Mac. Only Windows is foolish enough to trust the file extensions to determine a file type. Linux/Mac use the headers within the file to determine it's type. Hence the reason that you don't need file extensions on anything except Windows.

[Nabb 0]

One way to make a compressed folder idiot proof (i dont know if this works on anything but windows)Rename the compressed zipped folder, and remove the .zip bit, so that windows doesnt recognise it, it will no display a corrupted file, to get it back, rename it and add the .zip bit back.

I cant guarantee this will work, dot try it on anything important, and dont blame me if it goes wrong!

Let's open up the file in notepad.

PK    Šd*9]@ĺŻ c    24.6 walkthru.PNG

HMM I WONDER!
It should be pretty obvious that there's a file hidden in there. Also I know that PK means it's a .zip..
Open it up in winrar and it works fine - you don't even need to change the extension
(worse method: compress into a .rar - the Rar! at the start when opened with notepad isn't at all obvious)

Also I'm pretty sure there's a script out there for windows that analyses the header and determines what file type it is - I've came across it some time a few years ago...

[iGuest 3]

locking a folderHow To Lock A Folder And Keep It Private

This did not work for me as when it asks you to put a password in, it atual asks if there are any files that have a password. Not atualy asks for the passwords of the files. I still need an easy way to put a password on a folder. So when you click on it a popup comes up and asks for a password.

-reply by skeptic

[iworld200 0]

locking a folder and keeping it private has never been so easy and secure,1st we used to just right click and then gointo properties, then into hide.... and then in folder option we used to click on : "donot show hidden files"; but this is a very common technique, which can be easily identified.As the technology improvised, more and more techniques of hiding a folder came to light such as those mentioned below:1. hiding access to a folder by creating an "invisible" icon.2. hiding access to a folder by encrypting it and making it unreadable.3. hiding access to a folder by password protecting it.but not all or most of them arent meant to be the best secure way of hiding it. still the technology has to evolve and then v can expect for a better way/best way of hiding a folder from unwanted access.

[iGuest 3]

Okay, IHow To Lock A Folder And Keep It Private

I've been reading your guy's conversation and I am totally lost. I am just trying to figure out how to put a password on a file, and I hit the 'Hide' button and I can't figure out how to get my folder back. Oh, I have Windows 7, by the way.

So my questions are: How do I get my file back? and How do I put a password on it? 

-reply by Morgan

[iGuest 3]

Works even in windows 7?How To Lock A Folder And Keep It Private

I want to make one of my folders private but I really don't know how to set a password on it. I cant find any tutorials that work on windows 7.All I see is website that needs to buy a software for that.Is there any way I can do it for free?Help me please.

-question by Hanna