How to put a password on a folder in different ways. How to set a password for a folder without additional programs How to close folders on the desktop

There are many situations in life when you need to protect data on your or work computer from prying eyes. However, the operating system does not provide this option by default, so you should use one of the methods described below.

Password protection using installed archivers 7-Zip AndWinRar

When installing an operating system, as a rule, one of the standard archivers is included. This may be Their advantage is that they immediately convert the files in the folder. To set a password for the desired folder, you will need:

Right-click on the desired element:

Select the line “Add to archive”. A window with configurable parameters will open. The default compression level is set to normal. On the left you should specify a password, which will then be entered to receive. You can also check the box to encrypt files, then even when opening the folder, other users will not be able to see the names of the files.

The folder that has been encrypted can be deleted; further opening of files will be carried out by entering a password when opening the archived folder.

Setting a password using third-party programs

There are a large number of utilities that can set a password for any selected folder. When choosing them, you should be guided by the following rules:

• download only from the official website of the developers;
• check for viruses;
• control the installation process by unchecking the boxes that allow the installation of additional programs;
• pay attention to the presence of the Russian language;

In this case, programs can be either free and freely available, shareware with a thirty-day trial period, or paid.

Free programs

Paid programs

Video - How to put a password on a folder using winrar

Folder Lock program

This program is one of the most popular among paid ones, as it provides many features:

• , disk;
• make files inaccessible for other users to see;
• in the paid version, files and folders cannot be found using Explorer. In the free version such an opportunity exists;

On a note! The official website of the program can be viewed in five languages ​​- English, German, Italian, French and Arabic. There is no Russified version of this program.

The developers provide the opportunity to review the free version of the program, which can be downloaded by clicking the green button.

The program downloads quickly, its size is only 10 MB.

When you run the installation file, it will ask you to select the desired language. There is no Russian on the list.

You will then need to accept the terms of the user agreement.

It is better to uncheck the box next to the line “Create a shortcut for all users”; just create a shortcut on the desktop.

Installation of the program is quite fast, it takes 5-20 seconds.

When installation is complete, the program starts automatically. If you uncheck the box next to “Launch Folder Lock 7”, the launch will not occur.

You can launch the program yourself by clicking the shortcut in the form of a key on the desktop.

When you first launch the program, you will be prompted to immediately set a password. To do this, you can use the virtual keyboard, which is launched by clicking the icon next to the “Ok” button.

You should remember this password, since in the future you will need it to open all encrypted files and folders.

Adding files to hide is done by pressing the button with a closed lock.

Unlocking files is done by highlighting the desired element, after which you will need to press the button with the image of an open lock.

This program is easy to use and, despite the lack of a Russian version, is easy to use thanks to its intuitive interface. However, only the paid version has these benefits.

The developer's website offers several tariff plans, including different degrees of protection for files, folders and disks. There is currently a discount on the full package.

Encrypting folders inMac OS

This operating system allows you to set a password on a folder without using third-party programs. To do this, you need to use the disk utility, which is located in the “Programs” section, “Utilities” subsection.

In this section, you need to click on the “File” button and select one of two options: “New” - “Disk image from folder” or “New image”. They are similar, in the second case the user is required to perform fewer actions. After this, you should set the path to the selected folder.

After clicking the “Create” icon, the encryption process will start. When choosing 128-bit encryption, the processing speed will be higher; when choosing 256-bit encryption, file security will be higher. The choice should be made based on your own preferences for speed or reliability.

When opening a folder, the system will ask for a password. In this case, you can set permission to view, edit and add files.

Important! Using one of these methods, it is important to remember that it will be difficult to recover a forgotten password. Therefore, you should either write it down or choose a combination of letters and numbers that is unfamiliar to others, but has meaning for the user.

Video - How to set a password for a folder or file on your computer

When more than one person has access to data on a computer, there is always a need to restrict, hide and make it impossible to access some personal files or folders.

Today I will tell you several ways to mask and block access to files and folders.

First – the easiest way to protect your files and folders from novice PC users is to hide your data. To do this, right-click on any file or folder and select properties.

There you will need to check the box"Hidden" and click apply, after which the file or folder will be invisible.

To see hidden files and folders, you need to go to my computer.“Tools -> Folder Options”

In the window that opens, select the tab"View" and check the box to show hidden files and folders.

Now your folder or file will be visible. When you are finished working with your data, do not forget to change back the setting for displaying files and folders (last action).

This method can protect your data from the interference of novice users and children, since many, to my surprise, do not even know about this possibility inWindows.

Of course, the method is primitive, but even the developersWindowsuse it to hide system files such asboot. iniand others. So that in case of careless actions it is not required.

So, to improve the protection of your personal data, it is necessary to carry out one more operation, which, together with hiding your files, will make your data even more secure.

By the way, this method only works with the file systemNTFS. Now the file systemFAT32 is the default on flash drives, so if you want to protect the data on the flash drive, the file system will need to be changed toNTFS. I wrote about how this is done.

How to block a file

So, first of all, let’s move on to the section already familiar to us: “Folder Properties -> View” and uncheck the default checkbox“Use simple and shared file access”

Now go to our hidden folder and click properties. There will be a new section"Safety". Click on it and configure access rights for any of the users.
In my case, this is a complete ban on performing any actions with the user under which I am currently working.

We click apply and when we try to open the folder we receive the following message.

That's all. Today we looked at data protection using Windows. There are also ways to restrict access to files and folders using programs.

Often several users (family or office employees) have access to one PC at once, so to save personal data and information you should know how to create a password for a folder. This can be done using standard Windows resources or using additional utilities for creating a secret code.

Is it possible to password-protect a folder on a computer?

If you have never encountered the question of how to password-protect a folder on your desktop, then you should understand that this can generally be done in several ways. The computer may store personal correspondence, confidential important information, or age-restricted films. Because of this, there is a need to install protection and limit the ability to open some directories. You can even block access to the operating system as a whole - create a password (put a password) when logging into Windows.

How to put a password on a folder or file

You can use different ways to make a folder with a password. Some of them should be used to hide files from the prying eyes of children by adding the necessary elements to a hidden section. This will not save you from more experienced users, so you need to use more serious methods, for example, password-protecting the archive or downloading additional applications that add code combinations to any elements on the computer. All these methods will be described in the relevant paragraphs below.

Using archiving

The easiest and most reliable way to password-protect a folder on a computer is to use any archiver (7-Zip, WinRar). Each of them has a built-in ability to enter a secret code when creating an archive file. The algorithm of actions is very simple:

1. Right-click on the desired directory (right mouse button).
2. In the menu, find the “Add to archive...” item.
3. On the "General" tab, find the "Set password..." button.
4. In the window, enter the same code twice (be sure to remember it).
5. To open this packaged file, you will need to enter your password.

Using special programs

If you do not want to unpack the archive every time, then you should choose another method of how to securely password-protect a folder on your computer - use specialized software. This method guarantees the maximum level of protection. Here are some of the most popular programs if you need to create a directory password:

• Password Protect. It is a shareware program and works with all known modern operating systems. The utility sets a password and hides the necessary directories from users who do not know the code to open it. The program has a Russian interface, which simplifies the process of working with it. The algorithm for using the application is as follows:

1. Download and install the utility.
2. Click “Lock Folder” and select the desired directory.
3. Enter the password you created twice. In case you suddenly forget the code, you can leave a hint for yourself. Click "Lock".
4. You can open the necessary files like this: open the utility, select the necessary elements, click “Unlock”.

• Folder Lock. This option, how to password-protect a folder on a computer, unlike the previous one, has only an English-language interface. It is also distributed on a shareware basis and requires installation on your hard drive. Instructions for use:

1. Download, install, launch the application.
2. There will be a field for a password in the window, enter it and click “OK”. Repeat it again to confirm and click OK again.
3. The program will display a white field into which you need to drag the elements for password protection.
4. To remove the lock, run the utility again, enter the code, select the necessary elements and click “Unlock”.

How to set a password for a folder without archiving and programs

The easiest way to hide a directory is to make it hidden. This feature is available in all Windows starting from version 7. To do this, right-click on the element (mouse, right-click), click on “Properties”. At the bottom of the “General” tab there will be an “Attributes” block. Check the box next to “Hidden” and click “Apply”. From now on, you can see such a file if you set the display of hidden files in the Explorer properties on the “View” tab.

The question of how to put a password on a folder in Windows arises at a time when information appears on your computer that is not for everyone. It doesn’t matter what it will be - secret documents that should be hidden from competitors and employees, or materials that should not be shown to children - the methods of concealment are the same.

In the article I will look at six ways to block directories, one of which is based on operating system capabilities that not everyone knows about, the rest work using programs:

How to set a password using Windows

There is a widespread belief on the Internet that it is impossible to set a password for a directory without programs using the standard capabilities of the operating system - this is a misconception caused by the fact that the computer literacy of users and many “woe bloggers” is at a low level.

In terms of security, each new version of Windows is better than the previous one; you need to learn how to use these features.

Folder password protection is based on user accounts. In order to close a directory with a secret key, you must do the following:

1. Create separate accounts for yourself and for other users. By default, only your administrator account, created when installing the operating system, is valid.
2. Set a password for your account.
3. Specify which documents and directories are shared and which are accessible only to certain users. To access such objects, everyone except you will need a password.

As a result, access to your personal data will require administrator account access. The rest of the information on the computer (general) will be available to everyone.

Now let's look at how to install and configure all this in detail.

Create a shared account

1. Go to “Start” -> “Control Panel” ->

1. Select the “Create an account” item. Come up with a name there, if there are any specific users, then you can make them by name (wife/husband, children), or something general, like “Regular User”.

From now on, you will have an administrator - this is you, and everyone else is other accounts.

Put an access code on your account

To begin with, select yourself from the list of users. After you have created an additional account, you will have several users (minimum 2). If you forgot how to get to this choice, then again “Start” -> “Control Panel” -> “Adding and removing user accounts”

Then click on the “Create a password” link and set it. There will be an opportunity to add a hint; if your password is complex, I recommend doing it so as not to forget and not block your access to your own computer.

From this moment on, the administrator functions will be available only to you, everyone else will lose them, but they can use the machine, including all its folders and files, except for those that we will prohibit later.

Lock the folder with a password

User accounts belong to different groups, you are the administrator, the rest are users. In order to set limited access to certain folders, just remove the read permission for these folders for all users and leave it to the administrator (you).

This is done as follows:

1. Click the edit button on the desired folder and select “Properties”;
2. Open the “Security” tab (this tab contains the rights of all groups and users in relation to this folder);
3. Under the list of groups, click the “Change” button;
4. Selecting groups and users one by one (usually these are the “Users” and “Verified Users” groups), check the prohibited boxes next to changing, reading, reading and executing, the list of folder contents (total).

Applying the changes will automatically deny access to this folder to anyone else. To gain access, they will need the password of the account that is allowed access.

Closing an archive with a folder with a password

The second way to put a password on a folder is based on packaging the desired directory in an archive using a special archiver program and setting an access code for the archive. It is not entirely correct to call this method setting a password on a folder, since it ceases to be a folder and turns into a RAR or ZIP file.

But, nevertheless, in terms of the ease of use of this method of protection, the method is excellent, since the WinRAR program, necessary for working with archives, allows you to work with files and folders inside the archive directly, without reverse unpacking. That is, you added data to a password-protected archive. In the future, you will have access to them only when you enter the key. And all changes inside the archive are automatically added inside by the archiver himself.

I described in detail how to use WinRAR and how to archive a file in . The instructions there are very detailed, there is even a video tutorial, but here I will summarize everything briefly:

1. Install the WinRAR archiver
2. Select the folder you want to put a password on and right-click
3. In the context menu, select “Add to archive”
4. In the archive settings window, click the “Set password” button
5. Enter your password
6. Create an archive by clicking the “OK” button

I’ll add just one nuance - if the folder is large and there is no goal of compressing it, but you just need to protect it with a password, then when setting up the archive, set the “no compression” option - this will significantly save time.

Programs for setting a password for a folder

The disadvantage of this method is that it requires the installation of additional special software (third-party programs), which is no longer used for any purpose. In general, I recommend using special utilities only when absolutely necessary, when other methods are not available.

DirLock password setting program

There is no need to study multi-page instructions in order to use the DirLock utility, since it is intuitive even for an inexperienced beginner. Using it to set an access restriction will take 10 seconds.

Download the program here, you need to install it on your computer.

After installing and configuring the program, the “Lock/UnLock” item will appear in the context menu that appears when you right-click on a folder - this is the option to set a password.

If such an item does not appear automatically for you, then run the utility and select “File” in the menu, then “Options” in it. A window will open where such a menu is added using the “Add ‘Lock/Unlock’ context menu” button.

After this, you can put a password on any folder and when you try to open it, a message will appear stating that access is denied.

It will be possible to reopen the folder only if the ban is lifted through the same “Lock/UnLock” context menu.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to gain permanent access to a folder locked in this way and you will have to set and remove the password every time.

Locking folders with Anvide Lock Folder utility

Another program designed to password-protect folders on a computer. It is no more difficult to handle than the previous one, just with a slightly different approach.

Download the Anvide Lock Folder program here and install it.

In this utility, closing folders is done through the interface of the program itself.

1. Launch the program
2. Use the built-in explorer (+ button) to find the desired folder,
3. Press the closed lock in the panel,
4. Enter your password twice and click the “Close access” button
5. You can enter a password hint (if you wish)
6. The folder will become invisible.

How to remove a password

1. Launch Anvide Lock Folder,
2. Select a password-protected folder from the list,
3. Click on the open lock icon
4. Enter the password and click “Open access”.

As in the previous utility, to work with the content you will have to install and uninstall the code each time.

Set the password using Lim LockFolder

This utility is 100% the same as the previous version. All buttons and operating algorithms are the same, only the appearance of the buttons (design) is different. It won't be difficult to figure it out.

Download Lim LockFolder here and start the installation.

You launch the program, select the desired folders through Explorer, set passwords, then remove them using the open lock button - everything is the same as in Anvide Lock Folder.

Password Protect program

The last option discussed in the article is the Password Protect program. It differs from previous utilities in that it does not require installation on a computer.

The second plus is that it is in Russian.

You can download the program here.

To put a password on a folder:

1. Open Password Protect
2. Click the “Lock folders” button
3. Select the desired element in the explorer and click “OK”
4. Enter the access code twice and, if necessary, a hint
5. We see a message about successful closing - the folder becomes invisible.

To work with the contents of this directory, you will need to remove the password by launching the utility and the “Unlock folders” button.

Similar to all previous options, you will need to constantly remove and set passwords - this is the main drawback of all programs, which is why I advise you to use standard Windows features.

Summary

We looked at six possible options for password protection of directories on a computer today. Each of them has its own pros and cons, so everyone must decide for themselves what to give preference to - should you trust third-party software or use the capabilities provided by the Windows operating system?

Many people think that there is a special function in the system settings through which you can set a password for a folder or file. Unfortunately, this is not the case - there is no such option in Windows.

But there are third-party solutions that do an excellent job of this task. Now I will show you two ways to quickly password-protect a folder. The first is through archiving. It is simpler and more reliable, but not always suitable. The second is through a special program. You'll have to get a little confused, but then it will be easier to work with the files.

Method 1: Archiving

After installation, run the program, go to Tools → Settings and in the “System” tab add the formats 7z, zip, rar (click on each and press the + button), then click OK and close the window.

How to set a password

Right-click on the folder on which you want to put a password. In the context menu, if you have WinRAR, select “Add to archive...”.

And if 7-Zip → “Add to archive...”.

In the case of WinRAR, a small window will open where you need to click on the “Set password…” button (can be located in the “Advanced” tab). After which another window will appear, where we enter the code.

In 7-Zip we indicate it immediately at the bottom of the window (right).

It must be reliable: at least 10 characters, including numbers, as well as small and large English letters.

I also recommend checking the box next to “Encrypt file names.” The fact is that if someone tries to open this archive, then, of course, they will not be able to launch the files without a password, but they will see their names. If you encrypt, nothing like this will happen. When you open it, only a window for entering a password will appear and that’s it.

On a note . Pay attention to the line “Compression level” or “Compression method”. By default, the archiver reduces the computer file size. This happens without loss of quality, but takes some time. You can disable this option by selecting “No compression”.

When the code is assigned and, just in case, written down in a safe place, click on the “OK” button and wait until the folder is archived. If there are few files in it and they are small in size, then this will happen very quickly.

As a result, a new archive file will appear.

This is the password-protected folder. That is, it turns out that we still have both the original and the same thing, but in the archive under the code.

If in this way it is necessary to hide the data from someone who also uses this computer, then we delete the original. And don't forget to erase it from the Trash.

That's all! The folder is now password protected. True, in order to edit something in it, you will have to extract it every time. And then, if necessary, archive again using a password and delete the original.

Important! If you delete the original folder, leaving only the archive, and suddenly forget the code for it, then that’s it - screws :) Most likely, you won’t be able to get the data from there. So you should either know this password better than your name, or write it down in a safe place. Better yet, go to several reliable places.

How to extract data from an archive. To do this, right-click on it and select from the list WinRAR → Extract to current folder or 7-Zip → Unzip here.

Then enter the password and click OK.

Everything should unpack without any questions asked. But if there is a folder nearby with the same name, the system will start arguing: asking whether to replace the files in it with those in the archive.

Is it possible to hack such an archive? Theoretically - yes. There are special programs for password guessing. And if it is simple (for example, 123), then they will quickly cope with this task. But if the code consists of numbers, small and large letters, arranged in random order, and there are more than 12 of them, then the chance is minimal.

Method 2: Password Setup Program

You can also password-protect a folder or file using a special program. One of the advantages compared to archiving is that in this case it will be easier for you to work with files. That is, it’s easier to go into this folder and edit something in it.

There are many such programs, both paid and free. I don’t see the point in telling about everything - I’ll show only one. In my opinion, it is the simplest, plus you can use it for free.

Wise Folder Hide

First you need to download Wise Folder Hide from the official website. Download the Free version and install it on your computer. This process is no different from installing any other program - we just agree with everything and click “Next”.

Immediately upon startup, the program asks for a password. With this code you will open Wise Folder Hide itself.

Be sure to write this password down in a safe place! Otherwise, if you forget it, you won’t be able to open the program, and with it your folders.

This is what the program looks like:

It works very simply: drag the desired folder inside or click on the “Hide Folder” button and select it from the window. She immediately disappears, that is, she seems to disappear. And in the program its status is listed as “Hidden”.

Now we put the code on it. To do this, select “Set password” from the drop-down list.

A small window appears where we enter the code and its confirmation.

This will be the password for this folder. If you suddenly forget it, you won’t be able to open it later.

Usually after this a window like this appears:

Click "OK". That's all - a folder with a password. In addition, it is also hidden.

To open a folder, you will first need to launch the Wise Folder Hide program and specify the password for it (the program). Then select “Show folder” from the drop-down list and enter the password for it. Only then will it become available for viewing and editing.

Then, to classify it again, we repeat the procedure: drag it inside the program window and install the code. The same can be done with individual files.

It happens that when you start the program, the Russian language disappears - some gibberish is shown. In this case, you can do this: click on the button (at the top) and select Languages ​​→ English. And then click this button again and select Languages ​​→ Russian.

Important! If it suddenly happens that you forget the password for the program or for your secret folder, then getting it back will not be so easy. Neither uninstalling nor even reinstalling the system will help.

As a result, you will have to buy the full version of Wise Folder Hide, which costs $20-30. In addition, you may have to contact support and communicate with them in English. So be careful and don't lose your passwords!