The reasons of locking files or folders in Windows varies from security to privacy, etc. If your friends or boss need you to give the accession to get into your Windows, you may feel embarrass for lots of files are important and secretive, but you won`t be so rude to reduce them. In this case, the best way to deal with the contradiction is to lock your private files and folders, which means they can`t open these files without the password or accession. Here we will talk about how to lock files or folders in Windows 10, you can also refer to the article how do i password protect a folder for more tips.


Method1. 2 steps to lock files in Windows by changing file extension

For Windows Home editor without Windows encryption or Bitlocker, changing file extension is the most workable way to lock files in Windows.

Step1. Move and put all your private files in to another one folder, you can set several folders in it to make a better classification. After finished the movement, right click the folder and create a new zip files.


Step2. Right-click this zip file-> change extension .zip to a different one. You need to avoid giving the widely used extensions and name the file more professional.

Note: Remember to go with the route “Control Panel > Folder Options > uncheck the Hide extensions for known file types” to enable the .zip extension when you can`t find it. It is smart to set the hide features on when you have to lend your Windows device to others.

Method2. lock files in Windows by Notepad hack

 

It is kind of complicated but workable among Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows 98, and so on, you need to focus on the steps below.

Step1. Open Notepad in your Windows by clicking Start-> enter Notepad in the search bar, either right click inside the target folder-> New-> Text document.


Step2. Copy and paste the content of the attachment "Code to lock files”at the buttom to the document. Pay attention to the high light as the picture below, the default name and the password of the folder is "Private" and "wonderhowto", you need to replace "wonderhowto" by entering a new password there and save this text file.

Step3. Save and name the document which will become a Batch file somewhere you can remember, which should be use “.bat” as the extension of the name and choose “All files(*.*)” at Save as type( This Batch file is empty)


This will be what your file look like when you click Save


Step4. Double-click the batch file which is just created, a new folder will pop up. Then move or add the target files into this folder.


Step5. Now you can lock the Batch file folder by double clicking the batch file, choosing 'y' on the window that shows up and clicking Enter. Then the folder with your private files won`t show up in front of you.


Step6. If you want to access to the locked folder you just created, double click the batch file->input the password you just replaced at the step2-> Click Enter.

Source: Code to lock files.txt