Create a Password Protected Folder in Windows

How to create a Password Protected Folder in Windows 7

 This tutorial will guide you through the steps required to create a locked folder in Windows 7 – without installing any additional 3rd party software.
While the steps below will guide you in creating a hidden and password protected folder, this method is not 100% secure. It will deter the average computer user enough, but an advanced user will be able to access the contents of this folder.If you want to create a truly secure and encrypted place to store files and folders that absolutely nobody will ever be able to access, see the tutorial How to Securely Store Files in Windows.

1. Create a new folder and name it whatever you would like.



2. Open the folder, right-click on a blank area in it, then select New -> Text Document from the pop-up menu.

 

3. Open the text file you just created by double-clicking it and copy/paste in the following text:

cls
@ECHO OFF
title Folder Private
if EXIST "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" goto UNLOCK
if NOT EXIST Private goto MDLOCKER
:CONFIRM
echo Are you sure you want to lock the folder(Y/N)
set/p "cho=>"
if %cho%==Y goto LOCK
if %cho%==y goto LOCK
if %cho%==n goto END
if %cho%==N goto END
echo Invalid choice.
goto CONFIRM
:LOCK
ren Private "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
attrib +h +s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
echo Folder locked
goto End
:UNLOCK
echo Enter password to unlock folder
set/p "pass=>"
if NOT %pass%== PASSWORD_GOES_HERE goto FAIL
attrib -h -s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
ren "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" Private
echo Folder Unlocked successfully
goto End
:FAIL
echo Invalid password
goto end
:MDLOCKER
md Private
echo Private created successfully
goto End
:End

4.In the above code, replace the key PASSWORD_GOES_HERE with the password you want to use to unlock the folder. For example if you want the password to be 123456, the line should look like:

if NOT %pass%== 123456 goto FAIL 

5. Save your new file in the .bat format with the complete file name being locker.bat. To do this, make sure to change the Save as type: to All Files (*.*).

6. In the folder you created back in Step #1, double click the locker.bat file and there will now be a new folder named Private where you can put anything you want.

7. Upon exiting, double click the locker.bat file again. It will prompt you to answer whether you want to lock your folder or not. Press Y and the private folder will disappear.

 

8. In order to retrieve the Private folder, all you have to do is double click the locker.bat file and enter the password which you set in Step #4 and the folder will appear again for you to access.

9. That’s it!

How to Securely Store Files in Windows

This tutorial will guide you step by step through the process of setting up and using TrueCrypt, an easy to use and open-source (free) program that allows you to store files in a secure and encrypted “volume” on your hard drive.

1.  Head over to the TrueCrypt download page and then download and install TrueCrypt for Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000. The installation process is very straight forward – you’ll click Next a few times and be done.

2. When asked if you want to read the Beginner’s Tutorial on using TrueCrypt, click No. This tutorial will guide you through everything.

 

3. Launch TrueCrypt from your Start Menu, and click the Create Volume button.

 

4. Make sure that Create an encrypted file container is selected, and click Next.

 

5. Leave Standard TrueCrypt Volume selected, and click Next.

 

 6. Navigate to the location where you want to save your TrueCrypt file. I opted to save mine in my “My Documents” folder, but you can save it anywhere you prefer. This is the file that will act as the “storage” for all of the files you want to keep safe. Give your encrypted ‘storage file’ (volume) a name. Do not select an existing file, or it will be over-written. Click the Save button when you’re done.

 

7. Back at the Volume Location screen, click Next.

 

8. Review the info on the Encryption Options page – but leave the defaults selected unless you’re sure you want to make changes. Click Next.

9. Now decide how large you want this encrypted volume to be. If you’re only going to store text files, .doc/.xls or other Office files – you may want to keep this fairly small. I made mine 500MB, so that I could store quite a few files and folders. If you ever need to increase the size of your storage, you can always create another TrueCrypt file. The default Size is set in MB (megabytes). If you want to create a one or two (or fifty..) GB (gigabyte) file – so you can save a lot of files/folders in your secure volume, select GB instead of MB, and enter the number of gigabytes you want your TrueCrypt file/volume to be. Click Next when you’re ready to move on.

 

10. Now enter a password in the spaces provided. The longer and more unique the password (ie. use special characters like @ # $ % * + etc) the better. Important: you will never be able to recover this password. While you should make it very, very strong – you should also remember it. Write it down on a piece of paper and hide the paper if you must, but don’t forget the password :) Again, click Next.

  

11. In the Options section, decide which Filesystem you want your TrueCrypt volume to use. I opted for NTFS – though FAT is fine as well. Now move your mouse around the Volume Format window. You’ll notice that as the cursor moves, the Random Pool characters change as well. The cursor movement helps to create a unique value that TrueCrypt will use. After a good 30 seconds of mouse shaking, click the Format button.

 

12. And now your encrypted volume will be created. Depending on how large you decided to make the file and how fast your PC is, this can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes.

 

13. When it’s done, click OK. 

 

14. Now you can Exit out of the Wizard.

 

15. Back in the main TrueCrypt window, click the Select File… button.

 

16. Navigate to the file you created back in step 6, select it, and click Open.

 

17. Now pick a drive letter that you want this ‘volume’ to use. I opted for H:, since I never have an H: drive even when I plug in all of my external drives. It doesn’t really matter which drive letter you choose, just make sure it’s not one already in use. Click Mount.

 

18. Enter your password and click OK. 

 

19. Your encrypted volume will mount itself as the drive letter you selected.

 

20. Open “My Computer” and select your newly created drive.

 

21. Now you can copy (or more likely move) any kind of file to this volume, and they’ll be encrypted on the fly.

Very Important: as long as you leave your TrueCrypt drive open, the files and folders contained within it will be accessible to anyone who has access to your PC. It isn’t until the next step that the files and folders contained within your volume become 100% secure.

 

22. Back in TrueCrypt, unmount the drive by clicking the Dismount button.

 

23. Your H: (or whatever letter you selected) drive will disappear. The files stored on that volume are now only accessible by re-mounting the volume and entering your password. To re-mount the volume, simply open TrueCrypt and repeat steps #15-18.
Remember, all those files and folders stored in your TrueCrypt volume are actually saved “inside” the file you created in Step #6. No one but you can access them.