Putting a password on a folder

[SoulSearching]

Is there a way to put a password on certain folders on windows xp?

For instance: C:/MyDocuments/myplanstoenslavethehumanrace
I don’t mean having a user account password either, the password prompt needs to only appear when a certain folder is accessed regardless of user-login…

[xash]

I’ve found HandyBits EasyCrypto Deluxe to be the best solution for my use.

It’s amazingly easy to use and it’s very powerful. It’s also free.

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[Algernon]

I was using Folder Guard from Winability on my Win98 computer. It is excellent. I just upgraded to WinXP Professional though and I need a new version. The standard version is good for WinXP Home however.

Alas, Folder Guard is not free. (I think I might check out xash’s link myself.)

[Omniscient]

The Folder Guard website’s FAQ says this…

Q: Do I need Folder Guard if I already have Windows XP/2000/NT?

A: If you have Windows XP (or Windows 2000), you could use its built-in security to protect your files from other users. However, consider the following:
Windows XP/2000 lets you control access to the folders located on the NTFS-formatted drives only. Folder Guard lets you set up such restrictions for both NTFS and FAT/FAT32 drives.

Windows XP/2000 lets you restrict access to a folder, but cannot hide it. With Folder Guard, you can not only restrict access, but also hide a folder, or make it look empty.

Folder Guard gives you more flexibility in setting up the restrictions: for example, you can hide only some files within a folder, and keep the rest of the files visible. Or you can assign individual passwords to different files, to be able to unlock them separately (Windows XP/2000 cannot do that).

Folder Guard lets you restrict access to the files by mask: for example, you could make all *.doc files read-only (to prevent their accidental deletion), but allow their editing with MS Word without restrictions. (Windows XP/2000 cannot do that at all).

Windows XP/2000 Professional lets you encrypt files and folders, but if you share them with other users, they are not protected from deletion! With Folder Guard, you can complement the built-in Windows security by making the encrypted files “read-only”, to prevent unauthorized users from deleting the files.

The last but not least: you need to have a good understanding of Windows XP/2000 security to manage it effectively: user accounts, user groups, Access Control Lists, privileges, and so on: it’s complex and not easy. Folder Guard, on the other hand, is very intuitive and easy to use: you can see the protection settings visually on your screen, and manage them with just a few clicks on the toolbar buttons.

Apparently this implies that you can accomplish what you are looking to do with some built in Windows utility under the newer OSes. I’ve often wanted to do this as well, and haven’t been able to figure it out either. If anyone knows how to get this done using Windows 2000 I’d be appreciative.