Making a file folder accessible only by password

[Stewart Fluney]

Is it possible to have a file folder within My Documents folder accessible
only by password? I am set up to access my desktop by password (which
contains the My Documents folder), but am wondering if I can go one step
further and have a certain file folder within the My Documents folder
accessible only by password?

I have a Dell Dimension 4100 Desktop computer with Windows XP - Home Edition
operating system - service pack 3, Pentium 111 with 930 MHZ, 20 GB Hard Drive
and 512 MB of RAN. The file system is FAT 32.

Many thanks for your co-operation and response.

Stewart Fluney

 

[Leonard Grey]

Use third-party encryption software.

 

[Tim Meddick]

Hi Stewart,
No, it is not possible in native Windows XP to password
protect "normal" folders.
However, you could create a "compressed folder" but right-clicking on a
folder going to "Send to..." and selecting "Compressed (Zipped) Folder" this
will behave like a normal folder in many (but not all) ways within explorer.
You can then select (highlight) this folder in explorer and goto "File" and
select "Add a password" from the list. This is the closest you will get
without third-party (costly) software and they do look and feel quite like
folders in XP.

 

[ju.c]

This is the best free encrypting software:

http://www.axantum.com/AxCrypt/


ju.c

 

[Stan Brown]

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:56:10 -0400 from Leonard Grey

Use third-party encryption software.

I recommend the free and easy-to-use TrueCrypt.

 

[shawn]

I will second TrueCrypt. It's excellant and easy to use.

I've got a whole 120GB external hard drive encrypted. Nobody can get in
without my password.

What's nice is that if my Girlfriend or her Daughter plug in my drive all
they will see is a one file (called a container in TrueCrypt). They won't
know what to do with it. That's because when you want to use the container
you must open TrueCrypt and select to mount the drive. It will then prompt
you for your password.

Once mounted it will show up in My Computer and will behave like normal. You
can copy files, delete, etc.

 

[Twayne]

I will second TrueCrypt. It's excellant and easy to use.

I've got a whole 120GB external hard drive encrypted. Nobody can get
in without my password.

What's nice is that if my Girlfriend or her Daughter plug in my drive
all they will see is a one file (called a container in TrueCrypt).
They won't know what to do with it. That's because when you want to
use the container you must open TrueCrypt and select to mount the
drive. It will then prompt you for your password.

Once mounted it will show up in My Computer and will behave like
normal. You can copy files, delete, etc.

Wouldn't setting up a separate account for it, using XP's encryption and
being sure to export the keys, work better? And be a lot less complex.
Here's why I asked that:
Couldn't I boot from floppy or CD with any other os that can read
your file system and have full access to them?
This is old experience, but I had a machine here once with truecrypt
on it that wouldn't boot and there were no boot disks, the on-disk
restore was formatted away so not available.
I booted with a Knoppix disk and noticed the encrypted folder. I
entered that folder, with a long and impossible name to guess
incidentally, but there were all the files, visible and not encrypted.
Is that how that program works? It only encrypts the folder but not the
data? The files IIRC were all set to hidden and don't recall for sure,
and I think system too, but they weren't encrypted.

I've always wondered about that and never took the time to find out;
seems like as good a place as any to ask it here. Personally I just use
XP's encryption. As long as you export the keys, it's recoverable no
matter what happens.
If that's all wrong above, then is there a way to put unencrypted
files into an encrypted folder? The user had no idea and I didn't want
to ask too many questions since I'd actually treaded into his secure
area. Or what he thought was secure. I guess at t his late date it might
not even have been TC either. Oh well... still interested in any
comments.

Regards,

Twayne

 

[Tim Meddick]

All you have to do to prevent such a boot CD from being able to gain access
to ANY folders (non-encrypted) is to remove the default 'Administrators' and
SYSTEM permissions for that folder tree. That is how the CD gains access,
by use of the Administrators group permissions. (NB I said Administrators
(group) NOT Administrator (user)) (NB2 Do NOT do this to any system or
program folder [respectively] or the OS or program will not work)

 

[Twayne]

All you have to do to prevent such a boot CD from being able to gain
access to ANY folders (non-encrypted) is to remove the default
'Administrators' and SYSTEM permissions for that folder tree. That
is how the CD gains access, by use of the Administrators group
permissions. (NB I said Administrators (group) NOT Administrator
(user)) (NB2 Do NOT do this to any system or program folder
[respectively] or the OS or program will not work)

Well, it'd be easier yet to add a good BIOS password, actually. Then
nothing could boot without the password. You're taking a general
question and trying to bring it to the maximum side of everything, not a
reasonable incorporation.
But there are even ways to bypass that; just not with a boot disk.
I see no further point to your communications.

 

[Tim Meddick]

Well, I thank you for your opinion, but please understand we are all
entitled to one.
--

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

All you have to do to prevent such a boot CD from being able to gain
access to ANY folders (non-encrypted) is to remove the default
'Administrators' and SYSTEM permissions for that folder tree. That
is how the CD gains access, by use of the Administrators group
permissions. (NB I said Administrators (group) NOT Administrator
(user)) (NB2 Do NOT do this to any system or program folder
[respectively] or the OS or program will not work)

Well, it'd be easier yet to add a good BIOS password, actually. Then
nothing could boot without the password. You're taking a general question
and trying to bring it to the maximum side of everything, not a reasonable
incorporation.
But there are even ways to bypass that; just not with a boot disk.
I see no further point to your communications.

 

[Stan Brown]

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:41:31 -0400 from Twayne

Couldn't I boot from floppy or CD with any other os that can read
your file system and have full access to them?

No. A TrueCrypt volume is encrypted, and can't be read without the
key.

(I suppose the NSA could find the key, but an ordinary nosy housemate
certainly could not.)