Windows 10 does not have an option that allows you to password protect a folder on your computer. For some reason Microsoft did not decide to integrate this feature and to do something like that it is necessary to resort to third-party software that does allow it. Luckily there are options that can be used completely free of charge and that do not even need installation on the computer, just copy them into the folder that you want to protect with a password as you will see in the following lines.
One of these applications is Lockdir, a software that can be used for free to put a password to any folder in Windows 10 and thus keep the files inside protected from unwanted eyes. The software also has a paid version that adds extra options (such as 256-bit AES encryption, more secure than standard protection), but the free version is perfectly valid for basic use.
With this application you can protect any folder in Windows 10
Protecting any folder on a computer with this software is very simple. The first thing you should do is access the Lockdir website and download the software to your computer. Once the .exe file is downloaded (it weighs just over 1 MB) you should not run it directly , since it does not need installation and when you run it, what you would do is password protect the downloads folder.
Instead you must copy and paste it into the folder you want to give an access password to. Once inside the folder, run the file and in the window that will appear write the password you want to use to protect it. You will have to write it twice to confirm that it is well written and finally click on Protect.
When you do this, you will see all the files and folders in the protected folder disappear, in addition to changing its icon. Now only the lockdir.exe file will be seen inside it, the rest will be hidden and protected against unauthorized access attempts.
To see the contents of the folder again, just open it and run the lockdir.exe file. The application interface will be displayed again and this time all you have to do is enter the password and click on Unprotect . In this way you will directly see the complete contents of the folder again.
Just below the space to write the password you will have three options: virtual drive, temporary and complete. The first allows you to load the contents of the folder as if it were a virtual drive, the second is the one that shows the files in the folder again (the default option and the one I recommend you use) and the last one, complete, allows you to remove the password forever.
In case you choose the temporary option. The folder will be unlocked immediately and the Lockdir window will ask you if you want to minimize it, re-protect the folder with a password or remove the protection permanently.
Another alternative method to create a private folder
The first thing we must do is create a folder with Windows, where we want. Created, we access it and right-click> New> Text document. On this text document, we will have to paste, as is, the following lines of code.
cls
@ECHO OFF
title Folder Private
if EXIST «HTG Locker» goto UNLOCK
if NOT EXIST Private goto MDLOCKER
: CONFIRM
echo Do you want to lock the folder (Y / N)
set / p “cho =>”
if% cho% == AND goto LOCK
if% cho% == and goto LOCK
if% cho% == n goto END
if% cho% == N goto END
echo Invalid choice.
goto CONFIRM
: LOCK
ren Private «HTG Locker»
attrib + h + s “HTG Locker”
echo Folder locked
goto End
: UNLOCK
echo Enter password to unlock folder
set / p “pass =>”
if NOT% pass% == THE_WANTED_PASSWORD goto FAIL
attrib -h -s “HTG Locker”
ren «HTG Locker» Private
echo Folder Unlocked successfully
goto End
: FAIL
echo Invalid password
goto end
: MDLOCKER
md Private
echo Private created successfully
goto End
: End
Once copied, we will replace THE_PASSWORD_WANTED with the text that we want to use to unlock the folder, that is, our password. then we will click on «Save as» and, in Type, we will select «All files», using the name «locker.bat» to save the file. We can now close the text editor and run the locker file that we just created, which will generate a new “Private” folder in the root. This folder, «Private», will be the one that is password protected. Inside we can store any file and, to apply the lock, we will execute the locker file again. We will enter “Y” and Enter to accept the lock and, to make it accessible, we will open the locker file again by entering our password.
