Because most versions of Windows do not include a method of password protecting your files and folders, this page provides steps for encrypting files and folders instead. To password protect your files and folders in Windows, you need to use a third-party program.
Apr 17, 2020 Folder Lock lets you password-protect files, folders and drives; encrypt your important files on-the-fly; backup them in real-time; protect portable drives; shred files & drives and clean history. Folder Lock is the most downloaded file-security application with more than 25 million users. Sophos Free Encryption is the next free folder encryption software for Windows. It is another very secure folder encryption software through which you can encrypt and decrypt folders, files, videos, documents, etc. Along with encryption, you can also compress your folder with this software.
Handling Encrypted Files and Directories.; 2 minutes to read; In this article. A programmer or user may mark a directory or file as encrypted. A file marked encrypted is encrypted by the NTFS file system by using the current encryption driver.
TipBefore 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.
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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:
- Select the file or folder you want to encrypt.
- Right-click the file or folder and select Properties.
- On the General tab, click the Advanced button.
- Check the box for the 'Encrypt contents to secure data' option, then click OK on both windows.
If the 'Encrypt contents to secure data' option is not selectable or available, 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, which is required.
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.
- Select the file or folder you want to encrypt.
- Right-click the file or folder and click Properties.
- On the General tab, click the Advanced button.
- Check 'Encrypt contents to secure data' option.
- Click Apply and then OK.
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NoteYou won't be prompted to enter a password when encrypting a folder in Windows XP Professional. 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
Flush memory 2 1 download free. The newest version of TweakUI also enables you to show the Encrypt option in the context menu. To do this, follow the steps below.
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Microsoft Windows XP Home users
- Select the file or folder you want to encrypt.
- Right-click the file or folder and click Properties.
- Click the Sharing tab.
- Check the box Make this folder private.
- Click Apply and then OK.
Make this folder private is grayed out
For this option to work on Microsoft Windows XP Home edition, you must meet the below requirements.
- The hard drive must be formatted in NTFS and not FAT32 file system.
- The folder you are attempting to encrypt is your folder. For example, if your name is Bob, you must encrypt the following folder, or a folder within it:
C:Documents and SettingsBob
You cannot encrypt any folders outside of this folder. If you want to encrypt folders outside of this folder, see the other security solutions section below.
Other security solutions for protecting your files and folders in Windows
File and folders not frequently used - An easy way to password protect files is to create an archive of the files using a compression tool. When the archive is created, you can encrypt the contents by specifying a password.
Windows ME and Windows XP users - Windows ME and Windows XP comes with a compression utility. This utility can also be used to compress and password protect files.
Windows Vista and Windows 7 users - Windows Vista and Windows 7 also include a compression utility. However, password protection for the compressed files is not possible without the use of a third-party software program.
TipUsers can still view a list of the files within a compressed file. If you want both your file names and contents to be hidden, move all the files into a single folder and password protect that folder.
File and folders frequently used or accessed
Schwartz 1 3 1 – template based graphics code generator. If you need to password protect or encrypt data you frequently use, you need to install a third-party program that allows you to protect your files and folders. Below are some free and commercial solutions.
- 7-Zip - A free file and folder zipping utility, which also includes the ability to password protect zipped files and folders.
- AxCrypt - An excellent free encryption utility that enables users to encrypt all files within a folder and not allow those files to be viewed unless a passphrase (password) is known.
- Folder Guard - A commercial version of a password protection software that enables you to password protect files, folders, and other Windows resources.
- Protected Folder - For a small fee, it's an excellent software program that enables you to password protect folders.
Things to remember when encrypting or password protecting files and folders
- There is no such thing as a 100% protected file. There are many tools, utilities, and instructions for how to break encryption and passwords on files. However, the protection methods listed above will protect your files from the majority of users who may encounter them. If you are working with really sensitive data, we suggest a commercial product for protecting your files and data.
- Even though a file or folder may be password protected, it still can be deleted (unless the program supports the ability to protect files from being deleted). Always remember to backup all your files, even those protected by passwords.
- If you forget the password, unless you're willing to spend the time attempting to break it or pay someone, all the protected data is lost. Thus, it's important to back up a copy of the non-password protected files or folders, just in case.
Additional information
- See the encrypt and password definitions for further information and related links.
Summary
Encrypting files with EFS (Encrypting File System), Bitlocker, or other encryption methods can greatly improves the data security. But how to decrypt encrypted files without a password, or certificate? Follow the encrypted file recovery tips here to troubleshoot. For ransomware encrypted file recovery, you can use EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard to help you recover the deleted original files with ease.
Questions About How to Decrypt Files
Q1: 'I recently encrypted some of my files in Windows 10 and kept my encryption key in my Documents folder in C drive. I reinstalled Windows OS the other day, and the encryption key was lost due to formatting. Can I decrypt the file without the certificate?'
Q2: 'Unknown viruses encrypted all files and folders on my USB pen drive. I was threatened to pay Bitcoin to recover encrypted files, which I don't want to. I need a way to decrypt encrypted files without a password.'
Overview of Encrypted File Recovery
Sometimes we tend to protect privacy by using some file encryption tools, such as EFS (Encrypting File System), which provides the core file encryption technology used to store encrypted files on NTFS file system volumes. So only with a certificate can people access the EFS locked files.
How to Encrypt a File in Windows 10/8/7
1. Find the file or folder you wish to encrypt.
2. Right-click the file/folder and click 'Properties.' Then, click the 'Advanced..' button on the General screen.
3. Check the box 'Encrypt Contents to Secure Data' under the Compress or Encrypt attributes section, then click the 'OK' button.
4. Continuing clicking the 'OK' button. An encryption warning box will pop up.
5. Check the 'Encrypt the File Only' box to encrypt the individual file, then click 'OK' to finish.
Note: If you copy unencrypted files to a folder with encrypted property, they will be automatically encrypted.
EFS encryption is transparent. If you encrypt some data, you can access this data without any restriction. And you can decrypt the files system by unchecking the 'Encrypt Contents to Secure Data' feature. Yes, this only works for the file system, not your specific file. If you want to decrypt files, the certificate or password is indispensable.
How to Decrypt Encrypted Files Without Password/Key
If you haven't exported and backed up the file encryption certificate before or if you have forgotten the password, you cannot decrypt encrypted files in the following situations.
- Reinstalling Windows OS
- Moving encrypted files to another computer
- Recovering data from an encrypted disk
Suppose that you really need to decrypt files, you can search and try some online decryption tools. But you need to be aware that these tools are not 100% safe. You may be at risk of data theft or source data corruption. So think twice before trying these programs.
In addition to this case, where users actively use tools to encrypt, there is another unexpected way of files being encrypted, which is by viruses or ransomware. For example, ransomware encrypts and deletes files. In the next part, we will show you how to use a reliable ransomware encrypted file recovery tool to get back data without paying the ransom.
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How to Recover Files Encrypted by Ransomware
Since most ransomware encrypts your files and folders by three steps: make an exact copy of files and folders > encrypt the copy > delete the source files. How this works gives you a great opportunity to recover the encrypted files through professional data recovery software.
Here, we highly recommend you try EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. This virus attack data recovery program enables you to recover files infected by shortcut virus, restore files deleted and encrypted by ransomware like Locky, CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, and TorrentLocker, without paying.
Now, download this capable data recovery tool and start to recover ransomware encrypted files within three steps. Download 1password 6 8 9 crack mac license torrent. Note that this is just for file recovery of shortcut virus or ransomware, not including those by encryption tools.
Step 1. Launch EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. Select the disk partition or storage device where you lost files and click the 'Scan' button.
Step 2. This program will quickly start a scanning process to find lost files. When the process accomplishes, you can double-click files to have a preview before selection.
Step 3. Choose the files you want. Then click the 'Recover' button to get them back. You should save the data to another safe spot in your PC/storage device, not where they lost.
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You may need further help for tough data loss situations like reformatting drive, RAW disk, partition loss, repartition failures and system boot error. Consult with EaseUS Data Recovery Experts for cost-efficient one-on-one manual recovery service. They could offer the following services after FREE diagnosis:
- 1. Unformat the drive
- 2. Repair the RAID, RAW disk or operating system
- 3. Recover lost partition (the one that cannot be recovered by software)
Sum Up
You can use EFS or Bitlocker to encrypt your files and data. But to avoid losing the password, key, or certificate and not being able to decrypt files, we suggest you back up your encryption certificates and keys to a safe location, and remember your EFS backup password.
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For solving the encryption problem caused by ransomware, the most important thing is preventing virus infection. Install and enable the anti-virus software on your computer. Moreover, back up important data and files on your computer regularly.