I am mostly the only user on my PC, but if other people should steal it or borrow it I want some of my folders to have password protection. Are there any decent, free software programs out there that will add this function to a windows 7 OS?
I am checking CNET download and not finding anything so far.
I found the following article: How to Password-Protect a Folder in Windows 7 | PCWorld
Some of the suggestions offered in there sound pretty good.
Disclaimer: I don’t have anything to do with PC World or any of the software products mentioned in the article. I also have not tried any of the products.
Do you want just password protection, or encryption as well? People stealing your won’t be stopped by simple password protection if they think there is valuable data to mine. But if you are just planning to lock out users who sign on to Windows you can already set up multiple user accounts and permissions for those using the Standard Windows tools.
Super Like, +2
Here’s the old batch file protection how to:
This is what I do. It’s not for an existing folder, though (AFAIK). You mount the container as a drive letter (I use X: Y: or Z: to make it more obvious). Then copy the folders you want secure onto the the secure drive, and use a secure deletion utility to delete the old folder.
I suggest you start by taking a look here.
You may already have encryption software built in: BitLocker - Wikipedia