Does Anyone No Any Software In Which To Access A Folder All You Have To Do Is Enter A Password

hi i am in desperate need of some software which allows me to brwose my computer as normal however when it comes to entering my documents folder i want it to be so that the person in control has to type a password (which i'd set) in order to be granted access to the my documents folder. I dont want software which compresses or encypts it o owwt like tht, i want my computer browsing to be the same except for just having to type in a password to be able to view my private folder(s).PLZ HELP ME, IM IN URGENT NEED!!!!!!PLZ WB THANK YOU VERY MUCH

 

don't want people looking at your "collection" hehh :wink:

not sure if it's Vista compatible since it hasn't been updated for a while now. Well at least it's free.

http://www.download.com/dirLock/3000-2092_4-10558978.html?tag=lst-4-1

 

Encryption is the only way to be actually secure. A simple password could be easily bypassed. Look at truecrypt, as it's open source.

 

I use LockFolderXP for my XP OS, it obviously doesn't run on Vista though.

I might give dirLock a try on vista.

 

well he did say he doesn't want encryption software.

My guess is he shares a family computer and instead of creating several accounts, he just wants privacy with some of his files. Properly something he'd like to keep away from the kids.

 

works fine with vista, just installed it and ran a trial run

 

Thanks for the info

I been looking for something like this for Vista, but I hate Folderlock. So hopefully this would do just fine.

Edit: I can't seem to get it to work completely.

 

i have a question but its not realated to this thred. but i am looking for a search program more like windows search but that i can have on my taskbar

 

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/desktopsearch/getitnow.mspx

Click link under "Windows Desktop Search 3.01". I'm not sure if it's work on Vista(why would vista need it?), But it's work amazing on XP.

After install "right click" on the taskbar and select desktop search.

 

thank all you lot for helping me with my problem however mmk or a name similar tot tht was 100% right. I have so much stuff that if my parents saw 1% of id die :Olol. However what i dont think any of you lot know is that as i browse my files all the time i want a software wich as u clik on a folder it asks for a password-i dont mind if its easily bypassable coz theres no computer wizz's in my house lmao. I really really want some sort of software which will protect my stuff because to put it franklY i'd get f**ked if my parents saw any of my stuff and it doesnt take a genious to know what sort of stuff im on about-PLEASE HELP

 

You're not going to find any software that does what you are saying, because everyone would know that it provides terrible security, including any person who were to develop it. Because it's such bad security, no one would put any effort into creating it.

Your parents would be even more concerned if they came across a folder that asked for a password. The obvious question would be, "what's the password and what are you hiding in there?"

Why are you so opposed to using software that ACTUALLY provides GOOD security? I think you are just being lazy and not flexible enough. Don't rely on your parent's inability to use computers, because anything so silly like what you are asking for would also probably show files in other parts of the system, like if someone were to do a search for .jpg files or .avi files, etc... they will probably be found. It's not so hard to think that someone might do that -- even someone not so good in computers... or someone who is trying to check up on you and is using some guide they found online on how to look for those files.

So stop being lazy and go download truecrypt. You can name the file however you want, like "pagefile1.sys" or something, and everything in there is completely hidden from the OS until you open it yourself with the password. It is open source and fully secure.

edit- ok, just found this too... you can use windows compressed folders and add a password to it: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306531 A quick google search for "windows password folder" turned that up..

 

Can somebody translate that last one?

 

1) Open Notepad and copy the below code and save as Locker.bat. Don't forget to change your password in the code it's shown the place where to type your password.

2) Now double click on Locker.bat. First time it starts, it will create folder with the name Locker automatically for you.

3) After creation of the Locker folder, place the contents you want to lock inside the Locker folder and run Locker.bat again.



**********************************************************

The folder won't even be visible, and you just have to double click the Locker.bat file to lock/see it.

 

you seem to have practice in this area Silas!

 

It is good parenting to monitor your child's computer habits.

 

All one has to do is edit the batch file...

 

Yes, but he can rename this batch file similar to the long Windows system directories (like 098ojsf098kjdkj__lhsd8eohl.sys), or something like hyberfile2.sys/ntloader, and no one will bother touching it.

 

you could made the batch file a hidden file, then make a shortcut to it, then rename the shortcut?

 

Or you can burn the files on DVDs and hide them instead.

 

You should buy an 8GB USB stick. And put all your stuff on there. Or a external HD if you need tons of space. Then just plug in when you want to access those files.

LockFolder XP is your best bet if you have XP or can get it running under Vista.

You can also ZIP or RAR compress some files and use the Password option. This way nobody can access those files without the password.

You can also go to Folder Options and enable to view "Protected Operated System files" create a new folder(give new folder a covert name like "system 32win") to put stuff you don't want others to see in it, and make the folder hidden and then also disable viewing "Protected Operated System files" and disable viewing of hidden files. If someone finds your files now, then they were really really really are looking for it.

 

Or...

YOU COULD USE SOME REAL DAMN SECURITY AND STOP PLAYING WITH THIS CHILDISH CRAP!

I admit the batch file is clever, but it's still not secure.

 

NO! This sucks! You CANNOT HIDE FILES on a system. Any system is easily searchable and many folders are also indexed. This makes it trivially easy to find stuff, NO MATTER HOW CLEVER YOU THINK YOU ARE IN NAMING FOLDERS. The system will always find it, and any program can do a quick search for *.jpg or *.avi, etc..., and they will turn up.

SECURITY THROUGH OBSCURITY IS NOT SECURITY!!!

The ONLY way to make sure things are hidden is to make it appear they do not exist by using using something like truecrypt or encrypted zip files.

 

omg non o u get me- i cant use encyption software coz i always browse these files and itd take the piss if i had to do tonnes o stuff evrytime i used my comp if i wantd to c th;ese files-y bother arguing with wot i want or telling me **** bout ma parents and how to hadle them and wots best 4 me-stik to the god dam forum and please refrain from posting things which are irrelevant to the topic iv'e started. thankyou

 

if your parents are not exactly tech savy, you can just set the files as hidden and put them in your windows/system32 folders or something, providing they don't do a search for said files.

you should be in safe hand as long as you don't leave any traces behind, like recently used items or history, and more importantly make sure you don't get caught with your pants down

 

It's gone on too long. Firstly, LEARN TO F*CKING TYPE IN FULL ENGLISH SENTENCES WITH REAL WORDS. The keyboard is there so you can type out the whole words, and these little dots at the end of them are periods. You use them to separate each thought.

Since you cannot be bothered to do any searching or reading on your own, I will explain it to you here. TRUECRYPT creates one big encrypted file which you can mount as if it is another disk drive. You can move files and folders into it and browse them just like you can ANY OTHER DISK OR FOLDER. When you are done, you can unmount the drive and it goes away. See! All gone! All you need is one password the first time you open the file.

All anyone can find is the big file that contains the data, but as I said you can name it something like "pagefie.sys" or something which looks like a file that is usually there and is usually very big anyway. If they look into that file, all they can see is random data because it is all encrypted, and any of those files will not show up during a file search as long as you don't have the drive mounted.

When you make the file, you just need to make sure you make it big enough for your needs. If you find you need to make it bigger, you'll need to make a new one that's bigger, mount both of them under different drive letters, and copy the files from the old one into the new one.

If you still can't follow these directions or figure it out, you deserve to get caught.

 

Nope YOUR WRONG!!!! Vista and Windows search does NOT bring up everything. Make sure you know what your talking about before you speak.

And I'm giving the OP ideas based on what his needs are, not based on how secure you feel. He is hiding them from his parents NOT the Feds.

Also I DO NOT advise using encryption unless you have backups and/or are familiar using it. Because there is always a chance of corrupting your files and/or losing them for what ever reason.

 

I couldn't agree more.

If you use the "Advanced Search" link, which is displayed when you do a search, and check the checkbox "Include non-indexed, hidden, and system files". That causes the search to look through the whole system, and it's not exactly hard to find. Anyone looking for those files would immediately expect that you made a naive attempt to hide files like this, and would use that search option.

suck it.

Parents don't need to be the Feds, they just need to be able to follow a simple checklist on how to find things on your kid's computer. Clicking "search", then "advanced", then "all files" isn't exactly difficult, and would be information easily available to any parent with such concerns.

The risk of file corruption is equal for both encrypted and non-encrypted files. There's an equal chance of losing your files through sheer stupidity, using encryption or not.

 

It still won't show up using LockXP or if it's in a ZIP or RAR with password protection.

Also even with Advance options, search still doesn't find everything unless it's Indexed. And you can easily limit indexed options.

Refer to above statement. And why would his parents use advanced search options unless they know what they are looking for?

Absolutely NOT!!!! There is a greater chance of losing encrypted files. Not backing up encrypted files on any type of external disk is stupidity.

 

Honestly, stop downloading porn, or put it on a friggin external usb drive, and hide it in your room. How hard is that???????

 

Get a girl-friend.








Hide your USB drive at her place.

 

Buy a magazine instead?


Ok so it's not helpful... but your last post isn't exactly going to encourage people to help you out ..

 

THIS.

Yeesh.
If it's not physically on the computer, then you won't be able to find it on the computer.

Also; Grow up.

 

Really? The option "Include non-indexed ... files" causes it to still use the index? Really? Boy, that must be one huge bug that Microsoft missed!

Any basic online guide that a parent would use to check up on their kids would describe how to use this feature. Also, any software designed for this purpose would also easily be able to find it.

A file that gets corrupted because of a bad block on the disk or failure of other software like a defrag would create corrupted data in a part of the file. If that file were encrypted, that part would decrypt into garbage, and if it were not encrypted, then part of the file would be garbage. Either way, you have garbage in that section of the file.

The bottom line is that you have free, full featured, easy to use, military grade encryption tools available at your fingertips that require less effort to use than the other mickey-mouse shenanigan ideas posted here, and give you more security. You act like doing it the right way is so much more of a hassle than doing it the half-assed way, when in fact the opposite is true.

I suppose we all make different choices.

 

"Include non-indexed" doesn't mean jack if certain disks, folders, file types, etc: are not checked to be indexed. Also his parents would need Admin status to change which he can easily change users privileges.

Really? Source please.

First of all that's not the only way a file gets corrupted. Secondly I had stated in a earlier post that unless he is familiar with encryption he shouldn't mess with it unless he has backups. Wasn't stating that encryption was some evil tool

BTW ..... Seems like you did some heavy Goggling. But I'm speaking from experience.

 

Since you have a high rep, I will assume you are not a bonehead, and I also assume you are not just making things up to keep this going. Let me explain what an index is...

An index is a file that provides quick access to whatever information is indexed in it. In this case, Vista has an index file that contains information about where files are on the system. Because this is in a separate file, it has to be kept up to date, and doing that can take some system resources. Also, it does not make sense to have all files in the index, such as program files and windows system files, because a user would rarely be searching for those files.

When you do a search, the default options are to look for the files in the index. This may or may not find what you are looking for, and you can control what the system puts into the index. If you choose to not have a folder indexed, or you store the files in the windows or program files areas, the files will not be found in the index and thus will not be found in the search.

UNITL... you choose the option to "Include non-indexed, hidden, and system files". That option tells the search system to not look at the index file, and instead it will look through every single folder and file on the system, regardless of if it's in the index or not. That's what "don't use the index" means. The warning here is that it can take longer, because it must look through everything manually.

So if you change the options about what is and is not indexed, they will not show up in the initial scan that uses the index, but if you do a full search, it does not matter what you excluded from the index -- it will find everything regardless.

You can find more information on some of this here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932989

Some clever guy thought he figured this out too. Many of the comments there make the same argument -- that searching is trivial and will find everything. It's not hard to imagine that any parent thinking "hmm, I wonder if johnny has any bad stuff on his computer" and does a google search won't run into a page with the same information. http://www.iambetterthanu.com/2007/10/09/create-an-invisible-folder

If you think any parent is not savvy enough to be able to do this these days, you are way off.

Tell me this... if a file that's not encrypted gets corrupted, how does that affect the file? How is it still usable after that?

Encryption these days is as easy as using a zip file. Yes, there's some risk, but if you're looking to do all of this hidden files junk, it's certainly no more difficult, and mostly less so. The only real risk is if you forget your password.

You should try Googling. You might learn something. (and yes, this is all from experience, but it never hurts to gain more information)

 

Yes, I knew that. But that doesn't explain the situation of the OP. And a Full search will still follow the rules of search for hidden and system options. If his parents are configuring all this options perfectly, then he has a more serious problem of his parents looking for something specific .

What does that link to do with a Guide for Parents? If anything it helps the OP. And if his parents did run into that page, then what?

I do Google.

You need to Google the many way Files get corrupted. Like not saving properly, formats, etc: etc:

 

Now I know you are being intentionally thick. The full option name of "Include non-indexed, hidden, and system files" specifically includes hidden and system files as well, which you just mentioned there. Unless I also need to bold those parts of the options?

"Include non-indexed, hidden, and system files"

Then they'll run into anything just like it. Again, I now think you are being intentionally thick. If you can't understand that finding this information is trivial for anyone, including a parent, I'm surprised you remember to breathe.

And each of those is different in what way? When inside a password- protected zip or rar file, there are the same issues. In fact, password protecting one of those files actually encrypts it (which is one of your recommendations). No matter how a file is corrupted, it's still corrupted, and it's usefulness is limited to how well the application can deal with corrupted files.

I'm done. If I haven't made my point by now, there's no hope of ever getting through.

 

No, You were obviously being "intentionally thick" since your first post in this thread.

I was giving the OP advise based on his situation.

You are basically giving examples of how to hide something from someone who knows exactly what they are looking for. That's not the case with what the OP stated.

So before you claim you made your point, you might what to refer back to the OP and the rest of his posts

 

Guys, calm down!

If I get it right, the OP just wants to hide some files from his parents, right? And he is not an advanced user (seen by his text-speak, and knowledge in this area), so I think he should lay off the encryption and such (IMVHO).

Therefore -

1) His parents wouldn't go looking for these files speciafially. The OP just wants to make sure they don't stumble upon them.
2) His parents can't find the files, if he uses my idea (batch file), or uses the softwares mentioned here, as I'm assuming they're not tech savvy, because if they are, they'll find the data out no matter what.


Conclusion - He just wants to hide data from his parent.

1) Burn the files on media/save it on a USB drive. and hide that.
2) Use one of the hiding methods/softwares mentioned above by different posters.

What's there to fight about?

 

I'd also like to point out the psychological aspect of going to "My Pictures" on your son's computer and finding "Please enter password".

Also, finding a usb drive and wondering what the **** is on it when it says "Please enter password".

You want neutral operators, and the batch file properties is yes, a good way to do it.

A very simple way, is to just name it something innoccuous, stick it in system 32, make it a hidden folder and hide folders whenever you don't want to see it.

How about *getting hold of* a copy of PGP, and throwing it all on a pgp virtual disk with a key on a usb drive or a key sentance you remember and going from there? ONEFISH TWOFISH BLOWFISH.

 

lmao all u lot start arguing

 

that's not an argument... this is an argument..

Monty Python at their best..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y05EmK66Gsk

 

That's exactly what I been saying since the beginning. But this guy just wants to discredit everything post I make as if the CIA was after the OP.