Simple Software To Protect Folders

Hi,

The password protect on my windows 10 is grayed out and I have tried everything including changing the registry key. Is there a simple but effective piece of software I can use to just password protect certain folders on my computer? Just in case it ever gets stolen I don't want them to have access to certain info. It doesn't have to be free, just effective.

Thanks,
David

 

Use Win 10 BitLocker

 

I may be mistaken, but Windows 10 BitLocker isn't an available feature on Windows 10 Home edition, only Pro. Personally, I use Kryptel and like it quite well. It does exactly as you describe... allows you to encrypt individual files or entire diretories (with a little padlock icon) and set a password of your choosing as the only means of unlocking access to the file(s)/folder(s).

Something else I found quite "neat"... is that it gives you the ability to name the encrypted 'package' containing your confidential files. That may not seem like such a great feature, but I saw it as an added form of protection. I can password-lock my bank statements into a 128-bit encrypted package named "Album Art" and stick it in one of the Artists' folders in my Music folder. Eh? How 'bout that?!

 

Set a password for it,that sounds good .

 

Yeah.. but... am I having a bit of a remedial moment or tell me if this makes sense to you... How can a program that allows you to set a password to unlock the file claim 256-bit AES cipher encryption? Which, by the way... my previous statement of 128 bit was totally incorrect... Kryptel claims it enforces industry standard 256-bit AES cipher encryption.

But if my password is... say, for instance... 10 characters, and an attacker uses a brute force program against the password... how is that 256-bit? I'm gonna go test something with a useless file right now... and see if anything happens if the password entry is failed several times.

[EDIT] Nothing... It looks as though you can try the password as many times as you like... so brute force a 10 character password, and you can go tell everyone you just cracked through 256-bit cipher encryption. Am I missing something? I mean... I still like the program, but...

 

I just want something simple so if someone else uses my computer, or it gets stolen by someone who has limited computer knowledge, they can simply click on a folder and see the content. Just a simple need password to access this folder type of thing.

 

This really isn't as simple as you expect it to be. Here's the HowToGeek on the subject.

 

Can you explain what it was you were referring to here? Other than the login password I can't think of any others in Win 10.

 

Although I had my moment of doubt, the Kryptel program fits your needs and personal preferences near perfectly. Context menus make it easy to right-click any folder, encrypt it, and set a password. Boom, done. Did I mention it's also free? Here's a few screenshots:

https://scontent.fftk1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/47578524_1068979323271831_1953690076449865728_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_ht=scontent.fftk1-1.fna&oh=5d71741a8ea564664ccbe1205cc498d3&oe=5C6B6B0A https://scontent.fftk1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/48046624_1068979476605149_8875161093794693120_o.jpg?_nc_cat=107&_nc_ht=scontent.fftk1-1.fna&oh=0895279928c051ccd1bce47a0d0464ef&oe=5CAA5869
https://scontent.fftk1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/47683397_1068979356605161_7491419040154386432_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&_nc_ht=scontent.fftk1-1.fna&oh=177c4026afe1740ee91e6c4bc9a14971&oe=5C9565A4

 

Password length has nothing to do with key length.
Also...

With complexity being more important than length.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password_strength
Also read this.
https://blog.1password.com/how-long-should-my-passwords-be/

 

I'm still conflicted by the logic I'm applying to this scenario... If I'm understanding what you've tried to explain to me in your post, users should follow guidelines when creating encryption passwords so that its complexity surpasses that of which brute force algorithms are capable. The factor in this equation by which I'm conflicted seems inevitable:

If a decryption password lacks a certain degree of complexity and should fall within the capability of a brute force dictionary algorithm, the cracking program would eventually produce the correct combination, matching the user's encryption password, and ultimately will succeed once that combination is tried and accepted by the encrypting software. It might take dedicated system running the brute force program for days, though that seems of little consequence.

Am I still missing something that I'm ignorant about or does that seem as though there are no ways around that? I tested the Kryptel program I use, entering a wrong password deliberately several times. It appears there is no limit to the number of attempts that can be made... therefore, unless heeding the password guidelines you've provided in your post, decrypting such files would only be a matter of time.

Is that correct?

 

A professional encryption program will limit the number of attempts.
As an example, if I enter the wrong PUK code on my phone, after the third attempt the phone will be locked.

Not necessarily.
The length, complexity, and unpredictability are all important factors when choosing a password.
Have you seen a list of the most commonly used passwords? They are short, simple and predictable. Finding the password doesn't mean you 'cracked' the encryption. AES has no 'backdoor'.
I use words for my passwords. But they are not English words.

 

This might not be useful. But you can always zip archive your folders and put a password on them so no one can access them except you or if you send the archive to another person you can tell them the password to access the files.

 

Ok... so when explaining this type of security to someone, I would want to differentiate between password protected files and folders versus actual 256-bit key encrypted files and folders. Right? You can *facepalm* at this point, if you're to that point but thank you for trying to help me. I think I understand now... you can call password protected files/folders 'encrypted' if you want to, but it doesn't have a 256-bit key ... still good enough for my usage, though. I'm not housing Lvl 5 clearance government documents or anything.

And I've always taken effort to keep my passwords complex, not to mention using different ones for almost everything.

 

I'll pass on the facepalm...

Calling password protected files 'encrypted' is not correct.

Again, don't confuse the key length with the password length.
The password is stored in a hash format like MD5, SHA-1, SHA-2.
The data is encrypted with a key length of 128, 192, 256 bits when using AES.