How To Hide Files And Folders On Windows

While your Windows instrumentality should beryllium beautiful bully locked down pinch a password aliases perchance moreover immoderate benignant of biometric protection, it’s intolerable to guarantee that nary 1 different is ever going to get entree to it, whether it’s a thief swiping your unlocked laptop from a java shop aliases 1 of your kids wanting to play a less games while you’re doing point else.

Whatever nan reason, knowing really to hide files and folders from position tin beryllium really useful. These files won’t celebrated up during normal grounds browsing, and they’ll beryllium difficult to find moreover if personification is specifically looking for them.

And you’ve sewage a premier of ways to spell astir it, ranging from features built into File Explorer to third-party options.

By default, Windows File Explorer hides definite files and folders from view. Typically, these are important strategy files, which shouldn’t beryllium accessed aliases edited. You tin spot these files and folders if you want to:

To hide immoderate of your ain files aliases folders:

As agelong arsenic File Explorer is configured to not show hidden files and folders, nan items you’ve selected won’t beryllium visible. This applies wherever File Explorer is utilized — truthful successful dialogs for opening files incorrect applications, for example.

It’s a speedy and easy measurement of protecting files and folders you don’t want to beryllium seen, but it’s hardly nan astir unafraid — anyone who knows their measurement astir File Explorer will beryllium tin to get it to show hidden files again. If you petition point overmuch comprehensive, you’ll personification to move to a third-party tool.

There are respective third-party devices to premier from here, which don’t truthful overmuch hide your files and folders arsenic fastener them from view. If personification accesses your Windows system, they’ll beryllium tin to spot that point is hidden, but they’re not going to beryllium tin to get astatine immoderate you’ve locked away.

The champion action I’ve utilized personally is Folder Lock. It’s straightforward and reliable, and while location is simply a Pro type you tin get for $39.95, nan free type will beryllium tin for astir people. You get 1GB of abstraction incorrect your locker, and you tin support it synced betwixt 2 devices.

During nan setup process, you’ll beryllium asked wherever you want to shop your locker. It’s a bully thought to personification it buried dense successful immoderate subfolders alternatively than sitting location salient for illustration nan desktop. You too petition to specify an email reside and password for gaining entree to your integer locker.

If Folder Lock isn’t running, your locker won’t beryllium visible successful File Explorer. To adhd files to your locker and spot what you’ve stored successful it, motorboat nan app from nan Start insubstantial and log in. By default, your locker automatically opens successful File Explorer (in settings, you tin alteration it truthful it’s sitting connected your homescreen alternatively if you want):

Whenever your locker is open, it useful for illustration immoderate different files successful Windows. You tin delete files, transcript files, and transcript and paste them successful nan normal way. As soon arsenic you fastener it aliases adjacent Folder Lock, they vanish from view.

The programme too includes a Secrets section, wherever you tin shop passwords, notes, and successful installments insubstantial information, and a Safeguard characteristic for securely shredding integer files (overwriting them pinch random data, essentially).

Everything is encrypted utilizing AES 256-bit encryption and you tin backmost up your locker to a unreality retention activity (such arsenic OneDrive, Google Drive, aliases Dropbox) for different bid of mind.