Wise Folder Hider is a free program for hiding folders and files on your computer. Useful solutions to protect files and folders

Greetings, dear visitors of the site “Computer Smart!”

In this article, I want to introduce you to one simple, but at the same time very effective way to keep your data from prying eyes, that is, to hide your files and folders from other users.

In our age information technology the problem of the security of your data is very relevant, because even if you are the only user of your personal computer, this may not protect your data from various kinds of intruders who, in one way or another, can remotely (remotely) gain access to your computer, and to your personal files and folders.

There are many programs on the Internet, paid and free, that are designed to protect files and folders on your computer, but you need to understand all of them, correct settings, and in some cases, if the folder hiding program is incorrectly removed or damaged, you yourself may lose access to your folders and files. In my next articles I will review the most simple, effective and free programs to protect your data from unauthorized access by third parties, and in this article we will analyze the simplest and effective way- how to use the usual WinRar archiver as a program for hiding folders.

Download, installation and basic options WinRar archiver we looked at in . And at the end of that article, I promised to devote a separate topic to how to use the “Set Password” option to hide your files and folders from strangers.

So how do you do this? Let's look at the following example - I will create a “Secret Data” folder on my computer (you, in turn, can create any other folder to practice hiding folders), you can put some data there (not necessarily secret, we are just we are training). For me it looks like this:

A dialog menu appears for archiving your folder, the options for which we discussed in. Now we are interested in the button on the bottom right “Set password”:

Click it and you will be taken to the following dialog menu:

Here we need to enter your password, then re-enter it in the next line (this is for your own good, so that if you make a typo in the password, you do not lose access to your folders, otherwise you need to re-enter the password, and if they do not match, then you will realize that you made a typo somewhere). Please note that when entering a password, you will not see which characters (letters and numbers) and in which layout (Russian or English) you are entering. General recommendations and rules for composing strong password described in . In short, to make your password strong and resistant to hacking, try to come up with passwords that are at least 8 characters long (preferably 10 or more), which include, in addition to lowercase letters, at least one capital letter, as well as at least one number. In more detail, you can see all the recommendations for choosing a password in the article at the link in the previous sentence.

To visually control your password, you can check the “Display password as you enter” checkbox, and then you will see exactly what password you are entering and in what language. Use this option if no one is looking at your password behind your back. In this case, there is no need to re-enter the password for verification, since you visually check whether it was entered correctly.

I also recommend that you check the “encrypt file names” option, which hides all file names inside the archive, and if someone tries to see what file names are stored in your password-protected archive, he will not be able to do this without entering a password, not to mention already that he will not be able to view the contents of these files.

Most bottom button in this menu - “Organize passwords” - I do not recommend using it at all, since in this case anyone who sits down at your computer will be able to see all your passwords that you will store in this menu. WinRar honestly warns you about this when you click on this button.

So, I entered the test password “Password123″ for created archive(note that all passwords are sensitive to uppercase and lowercase letters, and for example the passwords “Password123″ and “password123″ are two completely different passwords, because the first one has capital letter, but not in the second one), activated the “Display password as you type” and “encrypt file names” options, and is ready to start creating an archive with a password:

Click the “OK” button, then “OK” again in the next window, and watch the archiving process:

If you have small files, the archiving process will happen almost instantly, and you may not even notice it. As a result, we receive a file next to our folder with secret data with an archive of all this data, protected by the password we specified.

When we try to see what is inside our created password-protected archive, a window immediately pops up requiring us to enter a password to open the file:

When entering incorrect password an error will be generated and the data inside the archive will not open. Please note that since we activated the “encrypt file names” option when creating the archive, a person trying to open the archive will not even see which files (their names and extensions) are hidden in the archive until entering the password. If this option had not been activated during archiving, we would have seen the names of all the files and their extensions that are stored in the password-protected archive, but we would not have been able to open them and view their contents.

To open our files inside the archive, enter correct password and click the “OK” button

This opens WinRar program, inside which we see our folder, and we can look at any files inside it

If we need to unzip data to some place on our computer, then click the “Extract” button at the top, and in the window that appears, indicate the path where to extract documents from the archive. After working with your documents, do not forget to delete them so that there is no unprotected folder with these documents on your computer that anyone can access.

By the way, one more important point— if you remember, next to our created archive we still have the original folder with secret documents.

This folder must be deleted so that your secret documents do not remain in open form on your computer. Please note that when you delete a folder, it is not completely removed from your computer, but is placed in the Recycle Bin, which is usually located on your desktop Windows desktop. To completely remove your file or folder from your computer, you must also empty this Recycle Bin. Find the “Trash” icon on your desktop, and right-click on it and select the “Empty Trash” menu item.

So, friends, in our article today we learned how to simple way protecting your personal data from unauthorized access strangers, having learned that WinRar is great program to hide folders. I hope you found this article helpful, and if you have any questions, please ask them in the comments.

This program will help you hide your messages from prying eyes. It's quite easy to use. After installation and first launch, the program will ask you to designate it as the default application for working with SMS. Now you just need to move the messages you want to hide to private.

KeepSafe

With the KeepSafe app you will be able to move your intimate photos and video to a special storage. Only you will have access to this storage using a special PIN code. The application is very easy to understand, and working with it does not raise any questions.

Eat useful feature"False PIN code." You can create a special code that, when entered, will display your storage space as empty.

In F.A.Q. a fun way to use the application is described - to create a full-length photo. These selfies are necessary to keep track of .

Vault

This program can hide not only photos and videos, but also contacts of prostitutes and SMS. On at the moment SMS cannot be hidden if you have Android 5.0. But it is possible to hide messages on Facebook.

The application has paid version, which will allow you to store your hidden files in the cloud, hide the Vault icon and alert you about hacking attempts. The cost is $2.99 ​​per month.

AppLock

This is a real harvester for hiding information on Android. With it, you can hide photos or videos, block incoming calls, prevent installation or removal of applications, change settings, launch applications and much more.

When you first launch it, you create a code with which you can access storage with hidden videos, as well as change application settings. I advise you to carefully study the AppLock settings, you can find a lot of useful things for yourself.

Hide Folders is very good program, with which you can hide any files and folders from prying eyes. It has a very simple and intuitive interface. To hide you only need to drag required file or a folder in the program window.

Program features:

• Very high level protection that allows you to safely hide your confidential information.
• 4 types of protection: hide, block, hide and block, read-only.
• Powered by hard drives with any file system (NTFS, FAT, FAT32).
• There are file masks that allow you to apply protection only to certain types of files.
• There is no limit to the number of objects that can be protected.
• It is possible to check files during backup.
• When starting, the program requires you to enter a password.
• When operating the program, a password is also required.
• If you delete the program, the files will remain hidden.
• When you try to delete folders that contain hidden files, they are not deleted.
• Lots of options to hide your presence hidden files and the program itself.
• Protects against blocking of system folders.
• The security driver does not show up in Task Manager applications and processes.
• Works in safe mode.
• Hotkeys are configured.
• Can be controlled via the command line.
• Integrates into Windows Explorer.
• Protects folders with any names, in any languages.
• It has a simple and intuitive interface and interchangeable styles.

And although a computer is usually called personal, that is, personal, the fact remains that in most families there are several users per computer. Naturally, in such a situation, the “real” owner of the computer often has to deal with the issue of personal data privacy. Yes, surely any user will have secrets that he would prefer not to share with other people. Store personal files on removable media It’s not always convenient, hiding it in a system directory is unreliable, and entrusting storage to “cloud” services is, to put it mildly, unreasonable. The solution to the problem can be very simple, but at the same time quite effective program called Anvide Lock Folder.

With the help of this little program, secret files can be hidden without moving them anywhere, so much so that the other user will not even know about their existence. Anvide Lock Folder is free, does not require installation and is very easy to use.

In order to hide a folder, you just need to add it to the list and give it protected status, and this is achieved using a password, after which the folder and all its contents will instantly be securely hidden. But the most important thing is that after this you can close it - the folders will still remain hidden. Anvide Lock Folder can work not only with hard drives, but also with removable media.

Of course, not in the sense that you can use it to hide an entire partition or portable media - we mean the directories themselves. As you can see from the presented screenshots user interface Anvide Lock Folder is extremely simple and easy to understand.

Let's look at how the program works specific example. Let's hide three folders. One of them will be located on, the second on hard drive D, and the third on the system partition and will contain working files Mozilla browser Firefox. After the folders have been added, and this is done using the button with the image of the “Plus” sign, select the one you need and press the button in the form of a closed lock or the F5 key. Enter the password and click “Close access” after which the directory will be securely “hidden”.

Unfortunately, the developer did not provide the ability to hide several folders at the same time, so you need to hide each folder separately; naturally, you can install one for each directory. But it is possible to enable a hint in case the password is suddenly forgotten.

But let's get back to our folders. All of them were hidden, attempts to detect them using standard means came to nothing. Yes, do you think it was possible to launch the browser after hiding the Mozilla Firefox program directory? No. When I try to open the browser in the usual way By clicking on the shortcut on the desktop, the system displayed a message about the absence executable file, when we tried to access firefox.exe directly, we received a message about accessing an inaccessible location.

As you understand, when working with software, and even more so system folders You need to be extremely careful if you suddenly want to experiment with the program's capabilities. By the way, Anvide Lock Folder can be used as a tool parental controls, blocking access to certain programs, for example to the same browser.

And one more thing, before reinstalling operating system, the developer strongly recommends unlocking all folders, as they and the files they contain may be irretrievably lost. That's actually all you need to know about this program. Additionally, in the settings, you can set a password to launch the program itself, as well as set the action that should be performed after opening access to the folder.

From others additional features It should be noted that there is support for hot keys, adding folders to the list by simply dragging and dropping, working from command line, as well as changing design themes. To change skins you will have to download an additional one from the developer’s website installation package with topics. Like the program itself, it is completely free. IN new version The program interface has been improved, the operation of the folder recovery utility has been improved, and errors have been corrected, in particular, an error leading to the appearance of the RECYCLER folder in the root directory of the disk, which is often perceived by users as a result of viruses, has been eliminated.

The problem of protecting confidential data when working on a computer always remains relevant. It's safe to say that most users have information that they would not want to share with others. This can be important financial or business documentation, as well as personal information. In any case, if you do not take care of the security of this data in advance, then it is quite possible that it may accidentally or as a result of targeted actions end up in the eyes of someone who shouldn’t. This happens especially often when several people are working on your computer or it is left on unattended. Therefore, we would like to introduce you to the most available methods solutions to this problem as built-in using Windows, and with the help of special programs.

Protect files and folders using built-in system tools

Encrypting files and folders using EFS

The easiest way to prevent unauthorized access to your data - use the tool built into the system EFS encryption(Encrypting File System). It provides “transparent” work with encrypted files and folders, i.e. you do not need to perform any additional actions with them. To activate EFS, you need to check the appropriate box in the properties of a file or directory. All contents of the encrypted directory will be classified, and any file or folder added to it later will also become protected from unauthorized access. This way you can reliably hide your data from other users of your computer.

BitLocker and Applocker

The BitLocker feature, available in older versions of Windows 7/Vista, allows you to protect data by full encryption hard drive, and it can be used both on a system and a regular volume. The BitLocker To Go option helps you keep information on portable devices, such as external hard disks or USB sticks. Enabling BitLocker is done using the appropriate tool in the Control Panel.

Applocker is Windows function 7, which is designed to limit launch certain applications. It is controlled using group policies and is designed for experienced users and administrators.

Special programs

Free Hide Folder | www.cleanersoft.com/hidefolder

Free program for hiding folders from prying eyes. It is less than 1 MB in size and works on all versions of Windows. Using the utility does not cause any difficulties - you just need to indicate in the main window the folders that you want to hide and click the Hide Folder button. When you launch Free Hide Folder for the first time, you will be asked to enter a password that prevents you from changing settings and showing your secret folders. This way you can hide an unlimited number of folders and the files they contain. In addition, the utility allows you to create backups your data.

Folder Lock | www.newsoftwares.net/folderlock

Folder Lock designed to encrypt files and folders. The program contains a whole range of tools that serve to maintain secrecy, and has an unusual interface in the form of a bank safe. To save your data, the utility creates special encrypted storage facilities called Lockers. You can place as many files and folders there as you like and protect them with a password. Folder Lock can also restrict access to a USB drive or CD, and has hidden mode work, monitors hacking attempts.

Easy File Locker | www.xoslab.com

Easy File Locker runs on Windows 2000/XP/Vista and boasts a miniature size of only 300 KB. It allows you to protect confidential files and folders so that others cannot open, read, change, move or copy them. Such files/folders will be invisible to all users and programs, even when booted in safe mode. You can add data using the standard file selection dialog or simply dragging it into the main program window, after which a dialog will appear indicating the password and privacy options.

My Lockbox | fspro.net/my-lockbox

My Lockbox is used to hide and password protect folders on your disk and can be installed on any Windows version, including 64-bit. Even at the installation stage of the program, you will be asked to indicate the location of the protected directories and enter a password, and after installation is complete, access to them will be limited. Protected folders are managed in My Lockbox Control Panel, which can be opened using a shortcut in the main menu of the system or by hotkey. Basic functionality It is provided free of charge, but there is also a more advanced Pro version for money.

WinMend Folder Hidden | www.winmend.com/folder-hidden

WinMend Folder Hidden – free utility to protect files and folders. Can quickly and safely hide data both on local and removable media. In this case, access to encrypted information cannot be obtained from another operating system and even when connecting hard disk to another computer. In the program settings, folders and files that need to be protected are indicated and a password is set. The utility has a multilingual interface and allows you to change the view using color schemes registration

TrueCrypt | www.truecrypt.org

This program is an open source product and is available for Windows 7/Vista/XP, as well as Mac OS X and Linux. It allows you to create a special encrypted space, which is displayed in the system as a separate logical drive. With TrueCrypt you can also completely encrypt a hard drive partition or USB drive. Distinctive Features utilities are strong encryption algorithms, a double-hide mechanism (in case you are forced to give out a password under duress), portability, encryption system partitions, hotkey support for mounting encrypted drives, etc.