For many people, security is a key and important factor when it comes to protecting our personal things and files, since if they are not protected, anyone else can access them without any problem and this does not suit us at all, since if for example it is personal data such as our bank account, we will have a big problem.
It is in these cases when one of the most used security methods is used, which is to put a key to our folders or files to protect them . But what if we don’t know how to put a password on Windows folders to protect our files? In this guide we will teach you easily and simply how to do it.
Index( )
- In what scenarios does protecting my folders help me?
- Keep folders safe
- Private information
- Sharing confidential information by mistake
- What steps to follow to set a password to a folder?
- Properties
- Encrypt content
- Create a strong password
- What are the Windows options for protecting folders?
- Password protection
- Encrypt content
- Password encryption
- How can I hide folders or files in Windows?
- Why can’t I enter a password?
In what scenarios does protecting my folders help me?
There are many scenarios in which applying a password to our files can be the difference between keeping our documents and data safe and losing and risking our information. This method applies if we want to keep our personal files, private or confidential information safe .
Keep folders safe
In this case, it is not a question of keeping our folders as such, but rather the content that is in them , such as personal photos and videos, important documents that you do not want to lose and so on. When applying a password to a folder, all its content will be encrypted and it will not be possible to access it unless we put the password that we establish.
Private information
On this occasion, we seek to protect personal information, which in the wrong hands can become an inconvenience for us. We are referring to private information such as personal documents, bank accounts, birth certificates, signatures and others. Therefore, these documents are the ones that need to be protected the most.
Another recommended option to avoid losing our private information is to schedule a backup or place the files on an external storage unit.
Sharing confidential information by mistake
By having our files and information encrypted with a password, it will be difficult for us to share our confidential information by mistake or outright to try to steal said documents, since if we share our confidential information by mistake, having a password, it will be almost impossible for the other person accessing it. This as long as we do not give the password of the file to that person.
What steps to follow to set a password to a folder?
Fortunately, there are several methods which allow us to put a password that is secure to our files and personal documents in Windows 7, 8 and 10, either with the use of external programs and software or we use the same Windows settings, which in this case it is the most recommended.
Properties
To do this, we have to look for the file, folder or document that we want to protect, when we find it, we have to right click on it, we are shown a series of options, we have to choose where it says properties to show all the properties of said file.
Encrypt content
In the generate tab, we have to go to the advanced options of the file, this option is at the bottom of the window, a pop-up window will open in which several options are shown, we have to click where it says “encrypt content to protect data.”
We proceed to mark said option and press the accept button, then the apply button, a new window will appear to ask us if we want to confirm the process, we will say that if, as a consequence, Windows explorer began to encrypt the folder or document . It should be noted that the heavier the file or folder, the longer it will take to be encrypted.
Create a strong password
Unfortunately, Windows Explorer does not have a direct option to put passwords to our files and folders, if we want to do this, we must use a third-party program, open a text document inside the folder and write certain commands in it. yourself or outright use the file encryption mentioned in the previous method.
What are the Windows options for protecting folders?
The Windows operating system has very few options to protect folders and files, however, the options it offers are few, but effective , whether it is encrypting files and hiding folders with Windows explorer or setting a password to the folder using Windows software. third parties. For this, it is recommended to store the files that we want to secure in a folder, this is done by selecting several files or folders at the same time and storing them in that folder.
Password protection
In this case we can make use of programs such as Lock a folder, Bitdefender total security, Easy file locker and others. These free programs help us to put a password to our folders in a secure way, since as we mentioned before, Windows does not have a direct method to do it.
Encrypt content
Content encryption is an excellent option, which is also possible from the Windows file explorer. This option does not allow any other person from another device or Windows user to see said file, since it is saved on the internal hard drive in an encrypted way.
Password encryption
For greater security, it is possible to combine these 2 methods , that is, to encrypt our file and in addition to that, put a password on it, this greatly reinforces the security of said file, apart from the fact that we can have it in a personal storage unit for not lose it in an emergency.
How can I hide folders or files in Windows?
This is another method widely used to secure our documents in Windows, which is to hide it, for this we create a folder from CMD in Windows or from the file explorer, taking this into account, to hide folders easily and simply, you must follow the steps shown below:
- We look for the folder that we want to hide in our Windows.
- We right click on it and we click on the properties.
- In the general tab, we mark the option of hiddenand we give it to apply.
- Next, we mark the option to apply changes in folder and sub folders and files, when pressing accept, the folder will be hidden.
To view the folder, we have to be in the Windows file explorer, we click on the view section that is in the upper left part of the screen, when we click, several options are shown, we have to mark the item option hidden, it is at this point where the folder that we hidden in the site where it was is shown.
Why can’t I enter a password?
There are cases in which we cannot put a password to certain files, either because they belong to the Windows system or because they are ours and are corrupted or damaged , in these cases it is recommended to contact Microsoft technical support and explain them with luxury detail our problem, which will possibly be solved by your technical staff.