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File and folder protection in Windows 10 requires no additional software. Here are two procedures anyone can follow
The continual theft of personal information means that more and more people are using tools and procedures to protect their data, whether it’s stored online or on a computer or smartphone’s hard drive.
While in the former case you should use passwords that are as secure (and easy to remember) as possible, perhaps in conjunction with a password manager, in the latter case, a good password or unlock code may not be enough. In the second case, a good password or unlock code may not be enough. For this reason, it is necessary to use other systems and tricks to protect your personal data from hacker attacks of any kind.
How to hide files and folders from Windows 10
A fairly simple way to protect files and folders in Windows 10 is to hide them so that they cannot be displayed in Windows Explorer, or searched or opened using various programs installed on our computer. Hiding files and folders does not require any special knowledge or skills: just open Windows Explorer, select the folder to hide (the procedure works with any file, regardless of its extension), right-click and select Properties. A new window will open, divided into several tabs: select General and here add a check under the Hidden heading. After clicking “Ok” to confirm your selection, the hidden document or folder will no longer be visible.
However, this method is as simple to implement as it can be avoided. Anyone who has access to your computer (even a hacker hacking, for example, with a Trojan horse) can choose to view hidden files and folders, thereby frustrating your efforts to protect the most important data stored in memory.
How to encrypt data and folders in Windows 10
A safer way to protect data and folders on your computer’s hard drive is to encrypt your files. Microsoft provides a native encryption tool for everything on your hard drive: it’s called Encripted File Service (EFS) and it’s available for Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows 8 / 8.1 Pro, Windows 8 / 8.1 Enterprise, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, and Windows 7 Enterprise. To start data encryption in Windows 10, use a USB stick on which the system will save the encryption key that will be used to “unlock” files.
After inserting the USB stick into one of the ports of the computer, start Windows Explorer and locate the files and folders to be encrypted. After selecting them, right-click on one of them, select Properties and wait for the window to open. In the “General” tab, click the Advanced button: here select the Encrypt content for data protection option and wait for the procedure to end.
This operation ensures that encrypted files and folders are accessible only to the Microsoft user who performed the operation. Any other users accessing the computer through a different Microsoft account will not be able to open or modify files protected by this procedure.
