How to password a folder in Windows 7

Windows 7 Protected Folder

One of the functions that is missing in Windows 7 is the ability to easily set a password to a folder in which we want to save important files, whether they are documents, compromised images or other confidential material. There is a way to protect a folder on the Microsoft platform without having to install any type of program. To do this, it is necessary to carry out a series of steps that we tell you in detail through this article.

To carry out this trick, it is necessary to copy and paste a code that we leave you written at the end of the article in the notepad . Within the part in which we have written KEY in bold, we delete it and establish the key that we are going to use to protect the folder. Keep in mind that this password is essential to access the files, and that if we lose it we will not be able to access them. Therefore, it is advisable to choose something that is easy to remember or write it down in a safe place. To choose the name of the folder in which we will put the files, go to the "Edit" menu and then to "Replace" and enter the word in the search boxNAME . In the box to replace the terms we put the title that we want the folder to be created to have.

Hidden folder

After completing these steps, we save the file in the .bat format (for example, hidden.bat). Please note that this file cannot be moved or deleted after it has been set to a location on your computer, as the data contained in the folder will be lost. This folder will be created in the same directory as the BAT file after double clicking on the file . At this time, the user can put all the files he wants to protect into the folder. After finishing this process, we double click on the BAT file again. A black screen should appear with the phrase: “Are you sure you want to protect the folder? (If not). If we write the option "Yes" and press enter we should see how the folder disappears. And if we click on the BAT file again, we will be asked to write the password set to enter the folder.

In this process there are several things that we have found that must be taken into account. On the one hand, the name of the folder should not contain spaces (otherwise it doesn't work). Nor should the letter eñe or accents be used in the key since the system does not recognize them correctly. Finally, if within Windows Explorer we have the option to see hidden files marked, at first it is possible that it  is still possible to access the hidden folder without having to enter a password.Just go to your browser settings, disable the option to view hidden files, and then enable it again. The folder will have disappeared from view and can only be accessed with the password. Also, every time we go to see our hidden files we will have to start the BAT file again to protect them again. Be that as it may, we recommend trying this trick with some unimportant files first to make sure there are no issues.

Code to copy and paste into notepad:

cls

@ECHO OFF

title Folder NAME

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

if NOT EXIST NAME goto MDNAME

: CONFIRM

echo Are you sure you want to protect the folder? (If not)

set / p "cho =>"

if% cho% == Yes goto LOCK

if% cho% == if goto LOCK

if% cho% == no goto END

if% cho% == No goto END

echo Invalid choice.

goto CONFIRM

: LOCK

ren NAME "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 the password to enter your folder

set / p "pass =>"

if NOT% pass% == KEY goto FAIL

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

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

echo Folder Unlocked successfully

goto End

AIL

echo Invalid password

goto end

: MDNAME

md NAME

echo NAME created successfully

goto End

: End