How to protect folders with Hide Folders® 2009. Differences between "lock folder" and "hide folder" protection methods
When you want to protect your data from unauthorized access,
you can use FSPro Labs' security software designed for hiding and
locking files and folders on your computer.
Hide Folders 2009 software is a modern edition of Hide Folders product
line which FSPro Labs has been releasing since 2001. Hide Folders
2009 is the result of long experience of FSPro Labs in files and
folders protection software development. This software lets you
to protect folders on your computer using different protection methods
on your choice. Hide Folders application is password protected and
only the user who knows the password can access the program and
the protected folders. Hide Folders 2009 comes with a great set
of options enabling you to fine-tune the program for maximum convenience
when protecting folders in Windows operating system.
Protection management in Hide Folders software is performed using Hide Folders main window. To make this window appear, you should run Hide Folders application from Windows desktop or Windows start menu. As soon as you run the program, it will prompt you to input your password (if the password was set before). If you input the correct password, Hide Folders will show main window. Note that if you just installed the program, the password is not set and Hide Folders will not prompt you for it. That's why we strongly recommend you to set the password as soon as it possible if you want to have password-protected folders.
To protect a folder (or file) with Hide Folders software you should add this folder (file) to the list of protected objects. To add a folder (file) to the list, you can use one of the following approaches:
- Click Add button in Hide Folders 2009 main window.
- Select File->Add to list from Hide Folders 2009 main menu.
- Drag a folder (file) from Windows Explorer and drop it on Hide Folders 2009 main menu.
Now you should set the required protection method. If you add a folder using Add button or Hide Folders main menu, you can set the protection method in Add Object window.
In Add Object window you can choose one of the following protection methods:
- Unprotect (folder or file) — do not protect folder — just add it to the list. This protection mode is suitable when you want to disable folder protection temporarily.
- Hide (folder or file) — hide folder from all programs and all users. This protection mode makes the folder invisible when browsing the upper-level folder. If a user knows a full path to the hidden folder, it is possible to view and access the folder contents.
- Lock (folder or file) — lock folder from all programs and all users. This protection mode makes the folder inaccessible. It will be visible when browsing the upper-level folder. It is impossible to open this folder or access its contents. It is impossible to remove this folder even if you try to remove the upper-level folder.
- Hide and Lock (folder or file) — lock and hide folder from all programs and all users. This protection mode makes the folder invisible and inaccessible. The folder is not visible when browsing the upper-level folder and it is not possible to open it or access its contents. This protection mode is the most popular among the users of Hide Folders 2009.
- Read Only — this protection mode prevents users from changing files and folders. It is impossible to remove files, create new files or modify existing ones, it is impossible to rename the protected folder itself or all child folders and files. You are still allowed to view and access the folder contents and copy it to other unprotected location.
When you add a folder to the list of protected objects using drag-and-drop from Windows Explorer, this folder is automatically protected with Hide and Lock protection method. You can change protection method for any folder in the Hide Folders list anytime. To change the protection method for already listed folder, highlight the folder in the list and select Protection->Object Properties from Hide Folders 2009 main menu. Object Properties windows looks exactly like Add Object window and enables you to change the protection method of currently selected folder.
The protection methods work the same way both for files and folders. This means that you can hide not only a folder but also a single file. The length of the list of the protected objects is not limited. A user can protect unlimited number of folders and files. Each list entry (file or folder) is being protected with the assigned protection method, so the list may contain hidden folders, locked folders, hidden files, locked files and files and folders protected with other protection methods.
In the Hide Folders 2009 settings you can find options to add protection commands to the Windows Explorer context menu. If you enable option "Hide with Hide Folders 2009" or option "Lock with Hide Folders 2009", you can hide a folder or lock a folder right from Windows Explorer, even if the program is not running. In this case the folders will be added to the list of protected object with the respective methods - "hide folder" or "lock folder"
Objects in the list are being protected with the assigned protection method. To get access the protected folders and files you should disable protection. Enabling and disabling protection is performed for all list entries at one time. That is all folders hidden with the program will become visible. To enable or disable protection for the listed files and folders you can use Hide Folders main menu, buttons on the Hide Folders main window. Or assign hotkeys for these actions. Hot keys let you enable or disable protection without opening Hide Folders main window.
Summary
Hide Folders 2009 application enables you easily tune up folder protection using "hide folder" and "lock folder" protection modes. When using "hide folder", the protected folder becomes invisible, but if you know name of file inside the hidden folder, you can open this file. When using "lock folder", the protected folder and all child files and folders become inaccessible. But the protected folder itself is visible. Protection mode "Hide and lock folder" combines "hide folder" and "lock folder" protection modes and the protected folder becomes invisible and inaccessible. All subfolders and files under this folder will not be accessible as well. This protection mode is the most popular among Hide Folders 2009 users who want safely protect folders on their PCs.