Password-protecting a folder

[John Gray]

I would be interested in suggestions for some (free!) software for the charity I'm at, bearing in mind

1. password-protection cannot involve the user logon name, since multiple people use the same logon name in the workgroup, or NTFS folder permissions
2. it's access to the folder we wish to protect; once the password is supplied, all the contained files should be visible and accessible, copyable. moveable, etc
3. it needs to be as simple and as automatic as possible (so no 7-Zip encryption, for example)

Has anyone used Axcrypt for this purpose - I'm not clear from the writeups whether it will do what I want...

PS where do I find what can be put after [list= ?!

[HansV]

I can't answer your primary question, but about your PS: see Tutorial: lists

[John Gray]

Thanks, Hans!

[Rudi]

Since you are the *.bat guru, I present you with:

How to Create a Password Protected Folder without any Extra Software

Whether it will suit your needs or not...is up to you. (Thought I'd post it as it seems right up your alley )

AxCrypt is about the only one of the free folder lockers I know (and can recommend)
The only other folder protection freeware I have used is actually not locking folders but hiding folders (like: Wise Folder Hider)

[Rudi]

Besides Hans's link to the list tutorials...here is a macro to automate lists if you use them frequently enough.

See post: 168290

[HansV]

@Rudi: as the HowToGeek article itself mentions, that method is not secure at all. Anyone who knows how to view a batch file can see the password, and anyone who knows how to show protected operating system files in Windows Explorer (it takes only 5 clicks or so) can see the folder and files...

[Rudi]

TX Hans. I did read the article, and posted it for John simply for the interest of the *.bat option. I do agree that I could have been more explicit with mentioning that the feature is not secure based on the level of user involved. Same goes with the Hide Folder entry I posted; it is not to be used for hiding confidential data as users who know the folder exists can easily access its contents.

I have had hits suggesting that LocK-A-FoLder is a possible option. It is a small open source security tool that is apparently very easy to use (minimal interface complications). I have never used it, but something that can be explored? It also hides the folder, so I'm not sure how it responds to searches and attempts to open files in the folder??

[John Gray]

I agree with Hans! All the How-To Geek does is to give the folder the Hidden and System attributes, and I can't rely on the user Locking the folder after use.

I can't yet work out how AxCrypt can password protect the Folder but not the Files contained therein.

Later... I will look at Lock-a-Folder (no, I'm not going to randomly capitalise letters!)...

[StuartR]

I'd use Veracrypt for this. You can create the folder inside a Veracrypt data file. No access at all unless you know the password. Double click the file and enter the password and everything is now easily accessible. You could rely on people dismounting the Veracrypt file when they finish, or set a timeout to automatically disable access after a number of minutes when no data has been read or written.

[John Gray]

Thanks, Stuart.
Has Veracrypt got a foolproof method of increasing the container size automatically when it becomes 'full'? And maybe decreasing its size if files are deleted?
Part of the information I didn't supply initially is that there will be 16 folders (one for each employed staff member) which need protecting individually, and I don't want to back up 16 lots of free space where the containers are only partially full...

Lock-a-Folder has been abandoned, by the way.

[Rudi]

Part of the information I didn't supply initially is that there will be 16 folders (one for each employed staff member) which need protecting individually, and I don't want to back up 16 lots of free space where the containers are only partially full...

Lock-a-Folder has been abandoned, by the way.

TX for the update. Based on the scale you have mentioned in your previous post, I certainly would not recommend these basic folder locking tools for any commercial or large scale purposes. Its fine to use for home purposes to keep out kids and the like, so I can certainly understand the decision to abandon this app.

[StuartR]

Has Veracrypt got a foolproof method of increasing the container size automatically when it becomes 'full'? And maybe decreasing its size if files are deleted?...

There is no way to change the container size. You would need to create a new container file and copy all the content from one to the other.

[StuartR]

Have you investigated whether Windows native encryption can do what you need?

[John Gray]

Do you mean BitLocker?

[StuartR]

I think that's what it's called John, I've never used it though.

[John Gray]

I tried the built-in File Encryption (right-click, Properties, General tab, Advanced, "encrypt contents to secure data", but for no obvious reason it came up with "Access is denied" for a folder which I'd created. Additionally, there seems to be a problem with various Encryption Certificates possibly needing copying, which made the whole thing seem rather too complicated for what I wanted to achieve.

Will soon be trying AxCrypt 2 Free, and maybe GNU Privacy Guard.

Who'd have thought that this could be so complicated?