Locking folders from being accessed on your own user account is not part of Windows by default. Folder Password Expert helps keep your data safe.
Folder Password Expert is a program that allows you to protect folders against unwanted access. It can lock folders on an internal hard drive, flash drive, external USB drive and network drive. When folders are password protected and locked, their contents cannot be read, copied, modified or deleted. To access the locked folders, you must supply the correct password.
Folder Password Expert guarantees your privacy by making it impossible for anyone to access your data – even in Windows Safe Mode. If somebody logs on under your Windows account, they will not be able to access your data without that crucial password, which for added security is not stored anywhere in Windows. To download the program, go to www.folder-password-expert.com and click ‘Try It Free’ in the top-left. Once installed, select ‘Run Trial Version’ to use the 30-day trial ($39.95 thereafter).
Lock folders
On the Welcome screen, deselect ‘Show this screen each time Folder Password Expert starts’, otherwise you’ll be constantly reminded to upgrade. Click on ‘Next’. You’ll then need to choose a task (‘Lock folders’ or ‘Unlock folders’). Choose ‘Lock folders’ and click ‘Next’. On the next screen, click on ‘Add’ and browse to the folder or folders that you want to lock and click ‘OK’.
Enter password
Choose ‘Next’ and you will be asked to enter a password. You’ll notice that if you tick the option below the password fields, you can enter a password hint. When choosing a hint, ensure that only you will understand it. Click on ‘Next’ and you will be told that your folders have been locked. Click ‘Next’ again and you’ll see the ‘Select a Task to Perform’ screen again.
Verify locked folder
Let’s test what happens when you lock a folder. Navigate to the folder in Windows Explorer and you will see that it now has a little red stop sign next to it, indicating it’s locked. Double-click the folder to open it. Folder Password Expert will be launched and you’ll need to enter your password for access. The password hint (if you provided one) can be acquired by clicking ‘Get a hint…’
Unlock folders
Open up Folder Password Expert again, but this time choose ‘Unlock folders’ and on the next screen select the folder from the list (if you have more than one locked folder) and click ‘Next’. Tap in your password on the next screen. The next screen will say you can now open the folder normally. Remember to go back and lock it again if you want to keep it secure.
Protect folders in Windows Explorer
You don’t have to open up the program first to use Folder Password Expert’s features. Right-click the folder in the right-hand pane of Windows Explorer and select ‘Lock folder’ from the pop-up menu. To complete the process, enter your chosen password. Unlocking the folder is also easy: double-click it in the right pane of Windows Explorer and enter the password.
Quick access
Folder Password Expert helpfully adds a context menu to the Start menu entry. An arrow points to the right showing your recent protected files. Here you can permanently pin folders to the Recent list, unlock them or remove them entirely. If you manually pin the Folder Password Expert start menu icon to the Taskbar you still get the Recent menu when you right-click.
Secure a USB or network drive
As well as being able to secure folders found on any drive or partition on your PC, you can also secure folders on a networkattached hard drive or one connected by USB. Simply navigate to the folder using Windows Explorer, right-click and choose to lock or unlock folders. Remember that any network-attached drive will need to be discoverable in Windows Explorer.
Trial version notes
To unlock the full version from the trial one, you’ll need to enter the code that you receive after purchase (there’s a ‘Paste from the Clipboard’ option) and then click ‘Next’. If you let the trial period expire without paying for the full version, the program will not be able to lock new folders; however, it will still be able to unlock protected folders on your computer.
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