If you want to ensure that no one gets unauthorized access to your files and information stored while using a shared laptop or desktop in your office or college, then it is essential for you to learn “How to password protect a folder in Windows 10”.

By default, Windows doesn’t have any reliable way to add password protection to your files and folders. Here, we will share all the possible ways to how to password protect a folder in Windows

How to Password Protect a Folder in Windows 10 using 7-Zip or WinRar

Winrar and 7-Zip are the two most commonly used zip tools which are used for extracting compressed files and compressed normal files. These tools also allow you to add strong password protect using encryption.

  1. Download and install 7-Zip or WinRar. Once the tool is installed. Right click on the folder you want to protect.
  2. When you Select a folder and right-click on it, you will get option pop up. There you will find “Add to Archive.”
  3. It will open the “Add to Archive” option windows. There you will find enter the encryption password in compression settings.
  4. Enter the password you like to use and click on OK button to add encryption password to the folder. It will create another Zip folder with the same name at the same location.

Now, you can delete the unprotected folder and only you will be able to open that access that zip folder files and information protect within.

Drawback: Every time whenever you need to access all the files and information stored in the Zip folder, you need to extract.

Let’s see how to password protect a folder using windows built-in feature for protection of folder and files.

How to Password Protect a Folder in Windows 10 Using Windows Built-in Encryption protection

Requirement:

1. This feature will only work if you have separate windows account on a shared computer.
2. Windows Professional and Enterprise version come with the built-in encryption feature to protect a folder and information. So, if you have any one of them you can use this feature.

How to password protect a folder

  1. Right Click on the folder, you want to encrypt. It will open a context menu.
  2. Select Properties.
  3. Now under General Tab, you will find Advanced at the bottom right.
  4. Click on Advanced. It will open the Advanced attributes of the folder.
  5. At the bottom, you will find “Encrypt contents to secure data” with a checkbox. Click on the check-box to enable Encrypt contents to secure data.
  6. Now click on the OK button to make settings effective. Once you click ok, a pop-up window will prompt to confirm, and as you confirm it, a message will appear saying that folder will be encrypted.

This setting will change the colour of the folder and make it green. Now you can access this folder without any password while logged in your windows account but others need the password your windows password to open it.

Warning: Anyone can access that protected folder if they have your windows password.

How to password protect a folder in Windows 10 using a self-made bat file

Warning: We have tested this method several times but for advisory please using this method on non-usable file for the first time to learn the technique.

If you want to protect your secret project which has tons of plans and files and folder them, you won’t want anyone to know then this is the best way.

  1. Right-click inside the folder which contains all your private and sensitive information.
  2. Select New from the context menu.
  3. Now click on “Text Document” and hit Enter. (You can name it anything and can be deleted later once the lockable folder is created.)
  4. Now open the text file, we have created in step 3.
  5. Copy the below code and paste that code in the text file. 
    cls

@ECHO OFF

title Folder Locker

if EXIST "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" goto UNLOCK

if NOT EXIST Locker goto MDLOCKER

:CONFIRM

echo Do you really want to Lock the folder(Y/N)

set/p "cho=>"

if %cho%==Y goto LOCK

if %cho%==y goto LOCK

if %cho%==n goto END

if %cho%==N goto END

echo Invalid choice.

goto CONFIRM

:LOCK

ren Locker "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"

attrib +h +s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"

echo Folder locked

goto End

:UNLOCK

echo Enter password to Unlock folder

set/p "pass=>"

if NOT %pass%==Your-Folder-Password-Here goto FAIL

attrib -h -s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"

ren "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" Locker

echo Folder Unlocked successfully

goto End

:FAIL

echo Invalid password

goto end

:MDLOCKER

md Locker

echo Locker created successfully

goto End

:End
  6. Now look for “Your-Folder-Password-Here” in the text, we have pasted in the text file.
  7. Now change “Your-Folder-Password-Here” with the password you want to set to access the folder.
  8. Click on File in the menu bar and Select Save As.
  9. Now change the filename to “FolderLocker.bat” and Save as type to “All Files“.
  10. Click Save button.
  11. Once bat file is created, Double click on FolderLocker.bat file.
  12. Congratulation Folder named Locker is created.
  13. Now put all the files and folder and other sensitive information which you want to protect in that Locker folder.
  14. Let’s lock the folder. Open the FolderLocker.bat file. It will open the command prompt with a message “Do you really want to Lock the folder(Y/N)“.
  15. Type Y and hit Enter, Folder Locker windows and the Folder named Locker will disappear.
  16. Now, whenever you want to access the folder and information double click on FolderLocker.bat file. It will ask to enter the password.
  17. Enter the password, we have set in Step 7 and hit Enter. Wow, your folder is back.

Repeat the step 14,15,16 & 17 to lock and unlock the folder.

Here, we have shared all method regarding how to password protect a folder. Now let’s see what is the basic difference between encryption and password portection.

Difference between Encryption and password protection

Password protection: it adds another security layer to the files and folders; Once anyone has the password they can access the data. Password protection won’t alert or rearranged the data in any way.

Encryption protection: Encryption scrambles the data in a specific manner that without passcode or encryption key the content cannot be read and encrypted data is virtually useless without its key.