Locking Folders?

i want to lock a folder so people using my computer cant open it without using a password

i only have one user account on the computer and i dont want to set up others just to get into this folder.

is there a way? im sure some1 told me once there was simple way of doing it.

cheers 4 anyhelp

 

thanks but i had a look at that method and i cant do it that way. the folder is on D Drive and quite big, so i dont want to put it on the C Drive. being on the d drive keeps it save if c drive crashes
is there another way??

 

Home or Pro?

 

Pro

 

Then it's fairly simple. Go to Folder Options in Control Panel, View tab, and uncheck the box about "simple file sharing ".

Then right-click the folder or drive you want to protect, Properties, Security tab and configure the permissions for the users as you want.

If you'd prefer simply to encrypt the folder, select the "Advanced" button near the attributes of the folder on the General tab of Properties.

Unfortunately, this doesn't help much if all users have the same account. But, you can still password-protect a folder by zipping it. Then, click the zip file. When explorer shows its contents, go to the File menu and add a password. Users won't be able to unzip the file without the password.

 

What makes this harder is that i only have one user on this pc, its my home computer but my dad uses it sometimes you see. he dosnt have a seperate user account setup and i dont want another account setup

so the folder has to be locked with a password. cant be by users as theres only one.

there must be a program around?

sorry if u dont understand

 

Yeh, I realize. Maybe I added the zip part after you posted. That is really the only way I know of without third-party encryptors, like Stealth Encryptor. But the zip method prvents anyone from accessing any of the files or folders inside the zip.

 

yes i understand the zip idea. only thing is its a large folder i want to protect so zipping and unzipping would take a while!

do u know of any easy 3rd party programs?

cheers for ur help!

 

Lots for money. Here's some freeware (at least they say they're free) I haven't tried:

http://www.globware.com/softwareview.asp?Ware=13
http://www.handybits.com/easycrypto.htm
http://www.softbe.com/

I use Stealth Encryptor:

http://www.tropsoft.com/stealth/

If you get it, be careful how you configure it. You can set it to encrypt file names and attributes, but it can also be set to automatically destroy files if someone tries the wrong password.

 

SteveS - why don't you want additional user accounts? In this situation it would certainly be the easy way to do what you want and setting up the additional user is dead easy.

Your dad might enjoy having desktop and other settings to suit himself as well. And they would have zero effect on yours.

I have accounts on my machine at home for several grown children who visit fairly regularly set up so they can work but can't destroy my PC (and especially one PC guru son-in-law ). And other, more limited, accounts for a couple of semi-housebroke grandchildren.

 

As Newt has mentioned, another account is an easy answer. By switching to the Windows 2000 logon screen, the new account would not even be displayed.

Just a note to follow up this with the discussion in your other thread---none of this will be of much use if you choose FAT32 for a file system. All users can effectively access all other users' folders and files in FAT32, as can anyone with a DOS boot floppy.

 

i don't want to set up another account for several reasons:

i like to be able to turn the PC on and let it automatically start up into my user area.

my dad has his own pc so doesn't use mine often. sometimes my sister will come round and ask to use it. so i have to let her. (cuz im nice) but there's files and stuff i don't want them to be able to see. (my sister likes reading my college, letters iv typed, pictures)

so i just want to be able to lock a folder with a password. it was easy on Win Me as u could edit the folders HTML. but i don't think u can on XP.

i have had programs like folder guard, and few others. but all they do is hide the folder. so to get into it. i have to open the program click unlock then navigate to the folder anyway. its a hassle which isn't work doing.

Cheers

 

Stealth Encryptor has a right-click menu for encrypting and decrypting. All you need do is type the password and encryption key.

You could just bury the folder in Windows or somewhere people never look.

 

Hey, assuming you have Windows XP Home, you might try just hiding the folder containing the files you want to protect. Right click, check "Hidden ", file will no longer be visible.

When you want to access it, open any folder, tools, folder options, show hidden folders, your folder will be avaliable. Of course, so will all other hidden folders be unhidden. But, maybe if your sister/father can't see it and don't know its there or this trick, it will accomplish your objectives.

 

yeah i understand that and that's wot i do currently. but its abit aggravating to have to hide/unhide the folder every time.

i don't think this topic is going anywhere. im just being fussy. lol. wasn't sure if there was someway on xp to do this but obviously not how i want to. so i guess its back to searching the web for programs that might help..

thanks for all ur help people!

 

Hi SteveS

You may want to check out Folder Lock . It is $25.00 shareware, which is lower than most, has all the "most popular" awards and installs on all windows OS's. It's easy, fast, secure... per site lit. It did not say if "single user" was doable. You may want to contact them. Let us know what you find. Your not the first asking this question / conditions.

 

Hi Steve: I know just how you feel. We had a party here at my house last fall and I was out in the back yard. When I came in a little later, I found my wife's boss pecking away on my machine. Well, I got all my financial & private stuff on here and I was miffed. So, I passworded everything.

Good grief what a pain! It wasn't very long 'till I unpasworded everything.

I fgured then I'd set up a guest user account, so I did, but it had 0 functionality. & I couldn't figure out how to get the basics on that guest user account. Then I found out I had to log in everytime and enter a password to be safe. That was the end of that. So, here my machine sits, totally exposed if I'm not at the keyboard, and it is only because I'm too lazy (or too anxious for windows to start when I push the button.)

As my old grandma used to say, you make your own bed and you're the one who has to lie in it.