02.12.2016.

HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

How To Password Protect a Folder in Windows 10

ByHenryT.Casey| July23,201512:26pm

Weallhavecomputerfileswe'dliketokeepsecretfromtheworld.Fortunately,inWindows10,youcantuckthoseunmentionableplansorfilesina
secretfolderthatispasswordprotected,andyoucandoitwithoutbuyinganyadditionalsoftware.

Here'showtocreateafolderthatyoucanfillwithfilesyouwanttokeepsecret,lockit,openitandrepeat.

HowToLockaFolderWithaPasswordinWindows10
1.Rightclickinsidethefolderwherethefilesyouwanttoprotectarelocated.Thefolderyouwanttohidecanevenbeonyourdesktop.

MORE:HowtoChangeYourPasswordinWindows10

2.Select"New"fromthecontextualmenu.

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 1/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

3.Clickon"TextDocument."

4.HitEnter.Itdoesn'tmatterwhatthefilewillbenamed.Youcandeletethistextfileoncethelockablefolderhasbeenmade.

5.Doubleclickthetextfiletoopenit.

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 2/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

6.Pastethebelowtextintothenewdocument:

cls
@ECHO OFF
title Folder Locker
if EXIST "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-
08002B30309D}" goto UNLOCK
if NOT EXIST Locker goto MDLOCKER
:CONFIRM
echo Are you sure u want to Lock the folder(Y/N)
set/p "cho=>"
if %cho%==Y goto LOCK
if %cho%==y goto LOCK
if %cho%==n goto END
if %cho%==N goto END
echo Invalid choice.
goto CONFIRM
:LOCK
ren Locker "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-
08002B30309D}"
attrib +h +s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-
08002B30309D}"
echo Folder locked
goto End
http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10
:UNLOCK 3/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

:UNLOCK
echo Enter password to Unlock folder
set/p "pass=>"
if NOT %pass%==Your-Password-Here goto FAIL
attrib -h -s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-
08002B30309D}"
ren "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
Locker
echo Folder Unlocked successfully
goto End
:FAIL
echo Invalid password
goto end
:MDLOCKER
md Locker
echo Locker created successfully
goto End
:End
7.Findwhereitsays"YourPasswordHere"inthedocument.

8.Replace"YourPasswordHere"withthepasswordyouwanttolockthefolderwith.

9.ClickFile.

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 4/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

10."SelectSaveAs..."

11.Clickonthe"TextDocuments(*.txt)"menubarthat'snextto"Saveastype:"

12.Select"AllFiles"

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 5/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

13.Changethefilenameto"FolderLocker.bat"

14.Click"Save."

15.DoubleclickFolderLocker.

TheLockerfolderhasbeengenerated!

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 6/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

16.FilltheLockerfolderwiththeitemsyouwanttoprotect.

17.OpentheFolderLockerfile,becauseit'stimetolockthatfolderup!

18.Type"Y"intothescreen.

19.ClickEnter,andtheFolderLockerwindowwilldisappear,alongwiththeLockerfolderitself!Yoursecretsaresafe!

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 7/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

Tounlockthefolder,doubleclick"FolderLocker"toopenit.

EnterthepasswordyouenteredinStep8,andclickEnter.

TheLockerfolderisback.Youcanopenittofindyourhiddenfiles.RepeatSteps17,18and19tolockthefolderagain.

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 8/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

PreviousTip Windows10SecurityandNetworking NextTip

Turn Your Windows PC into a Wi-Fi Password Protect a Folder Create a Guest Account in Windows
Hotspot 10

MoreTips
UsetheWindows10ParentalControls
FindYourMACAddress
TurnYourWindowsPCintoaWiFiHotspot
PasswordProtectaFolder
CreateaGuestAccountinWindows10
EnableWindowsHelloFingerprintLogin
SetUpWindowsHelloFacialRecognition
HowtoRestrictCortana'sEverPresentListeninginWindows10
AllWindows10Tips

AUTHOR BIO

Henry T. Casey,
AftergraduatingfromBardCollegeaB.A.inLiterature,HenryT.CaseyworkedinpublishingandproductdevelopmentatRizzoliandTheMetropolitanMuseumofArt,
respectively.HenryjoinedTom'sGuideandLAPTOPhavingwrittenforTheContentStrategist,TechRadarandPatekPhilippeInternationalMagazine.Hedivideshis
freetimebetweengoingtoliveconcerts,listeningtotoomanypodcasts,andmasteringhiscoldbrewcoffeeprocess.Contentruleseverythingaroundhim.

HenryT.Casey,on

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 9/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

ADD A COMMENT

Email

Name

Comment

SUBMIT

118 COMMENTS
Quang Says:
November11th,2016at5:49am

YoucanjustdeletetheFolderLockerfile,orputitsomewhereelse.
Youonlyneedittobeinthefolderwhenyouwanttolockorunlock.
Aslongasyourememberthesamepassword,youcanalwaysmakethatfileanytimefollowingHenry'sinstruction.

unknown Says:
November10th,2016at1:18pm

Ikeepalockfolderwithpasswordandhasthepasswordtothefolderinit.

Hossein Says:
November2nd,2016at5:53am

Hey
Thereisabugwithit!
Ifsomeonechooses"Previewpane"inviewtitlebar,he/shecanoverviewthecontentinfolderlocker.bat
sohe/shecanfindthepassword!

sachin Says:
October23rd,2016at1:48pm

whatifiaccidentlydeletedthefolder"NewTextDocument",
permanently?

Ravi kiran Says:

October20th,2016at12:58am

Awesome............itworks
useitproperlyandmakesureofyourpasswordanddon'tblameguys............

Rudi Rudolph Says:

October12th,2016at7:35am

UnlessIhavedonesomethingwrong,Rightclickonthebatfile,selecteditandyouwillseewhatthepasswordis.Doesnotworkforme.

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 10/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

weedy Says:
October3rd,2016at4:09pm

ifulostworklikemejusttypethetitleoftheworkintothesearch

Surya Says:
October2nd,2016at2:30am

Don'tuseit.
It'stotallyfraud.EventhoughI'mtypingthecorrectpasswordmyfilesarenotdisplayed.
Ilostmyvaluablefilesduetothis.
don'tdaretodothis.

Ahsan Says:
September20th,2016at12:55am

Itjusthidesthefiles.
Moreoveranyonecangetthepasswordbyeditingthefolderlockfilewithnotepadoranythingandlookforpass==

Vedansh Barthwal Says:

September17th,2016at10:11am

Itisjustforhidingthefolder.Thefolderappearswhenyousearchonsearchbar.NotUseful.

Ayush Maurya Says:

September14th,2016at6:45am

ifweforgotpasswordthenhowcanwerecoverit.

iamtypingcorrectpassword,butthelockerpassworddoesn`ntopen.

pleasehelpimmedatley

Sandra Styskin Says:

September12th,2016at5:11pm

Interestingidea,howevertheprotectionprovidedbythismethodisextremelylimited.Simplyenabling"showhidden/systemfiles"willmakethefiles
appearagain,completelybypassingthepasswordprotectioninliterallyafewclicks.Evenworse,ifyoudothisforfilesonaportabledevice,saya
USBstick,andconnectittoacomputerthathastheoption"showhiddenfiles"enabled,thefileswillshowuprightaway!Soit'snotreallyagreat
solutionifyouwanttogiveaUSBsticktoafriendandbesurehedoesn'tseeyourhiddenfiles.

ProperlypasswordprotectingfileswithoutadditionalsoftwareisafeaturethatWindowssimplydoesnthave,sotheonlywaytoactuallypassword
protectyourfilesistouseadditionalsoftware.Ifyouarelookingforaneasytousesolution,IwouldsuggestSafeplicity(https://www.safeplicity.com),
butIambiased,sodonttakemywordforitandbesuretocheckoutsomealternatives.Ifyourelookingforafreeopensourcesolution,VeraCrypt
(https://veracrypt.codeplex.com/)isprobablythebest.

Onelastwordofcaution:whenchoosingthesoftware,makesurethatitnotonlypasswordprotectsyourfiles,butalsoencryptsthem.Password
protectionwithoutencryption(liketheonesuggestedinthearticle)canbebypassedbyanycomputersavvypersonwitheasewehaveseenmany
livesruinedbecauseofthis.Passwordprotectionwithencryptioncannotbebrokenbyanyone(unlessyoubelieveinconspiracytheories).

Finally,foreveryonewhocannotaccesstheirdataanymore,herearedetailedinstructionshowtogetitback:SimplygoinWindowsExplorerto
Options>Changefolderandsearchoptions.Nowmakesureyoutick:Showhiddenfiles.AlsountickHideprotectedoperatingsystemfiles.
Thatsit.YourprotectedfolderwillshowupagainwiththenameControlPanel.{21EC20203AEA1069A2DD08002B30309D}.

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 11/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

UltraUnknown Says:
September8th,2016at5:16pm

Hi.Basicallynoticedaflawinthis.Iwaseditingmyownversionofthis,andnoticeditcanbeviewedvia7ZIP.Evenifyouhaveconvertedbatchto
exe,7zipcanstillseethe"ControlPanel.{21EC20203AEA1069A2DD08002B30309D}"folderandthatfolderisthelocker.Withinthefolderwith
7zip,youcanstillaccessit'sinternals.

jb2000 Says:
September7th,2016at2:35pm

WARNINGDONOTUSETHISOPTION.TRIEDITONMYLAPTOPANDTHECHOSENPASSWORDDOESNOTWORKIHAVELOSTAHELL
OFALOTOFWORKTHANKSTOTHISTERRIBLE"HACK".

DONOTUSE!!!!!!!!

yuvkiran Says:
September4th,2016at5:23am

yaitisworkingfinebutonesmallproblemwhenwesearchedforthatlockedfolderitisshowingeverythinginthefoldercanupleaseimplementit!

Pankaj Goenka Says:

September3rd,2016at5:12pm

Didastold,YETAFTERCOMPLETINGIT,Icanseethefolder(Blurrbythewaythistime),andcanopenit.Help!!

Stu Gravs Says:

September1st,2016at10:36am

Kudosdude,Kudos:)workedperfectly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jackel Says:
September1st,2016at3:05am

Helpedalot,thanks*thumbsupemoji*

Abhee Says:
August30th,2016at12:03pm

Whatif.batfilegotdeletedaccidentallyfromrecyclebin?

coleen Says:
August30th,2016at10:43am

triedthis,andwheniwannttoopenitagainsacommandpromptalwayssaysINVALIDPASSWORD:(((((((HELPMEpls

Michael Cordero Says:

August30th,2016at1:28am

Thisisgreat!Onlyissueisthefilescanstillbeaccessedwhenthefileissearchedforfromthestartmenu.Gotaworkaroundforthis?

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 12/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

Cool Kid 22 Says:

August22nd,2016at9:58pm

@prathapkarakaifyoudolooseitmakedosteps114andyouwillhavethesamefileback.Thecodingismadesothatisworkswithafolder
namedLocker.Youcanalsosaveanothercopyofthatfileontoaflashdriveorotherthing.

Shubham Mistry Says:

August16th,2016at8:27pm

nowiamgoingtostoreallmyporncollectioninthisfolder....
thankyouverymuch

prathap karaka Says:

August13th,2016at1:26am

hellogoodmorningthanksforsuchcode,itsworkingfantastic.butihavedoubtthatifi'lllostthatbatchfilethenhowcaniopenthatfolderagain.

Pabaz Says:
August12th,2016at4:13am

Itworkedonwindows10OS.Thankyou.

saurav mehra Says:

August11th,2016at6:38am

ifweforgotpasswordthenhowcanwerecoverit.

iamtypingcorrectpassword,butthelockerpassworddoesn`ntopen.

pleasehelpimmedatley

Donald Says:
August10th,2016at4:31pm

Itworkedfine,onthepcside,andIexethefilesoitsfine,thequestionIhaveisthedriveIhaveonanetwork,doesnotcreatethefolderfromthe
code,isthereapathissuewiththecodethatI'mmissing?

Alex Ray Says:

August5th,2016at10:18pm

Iusedthistutorial,butwhenthefolderwaslocked,atransparentfolderappearsandthe"Locked"filescanstillbeaccesseseasilywithoutthe
password.The"Locker"folderneverdisappearslikethetutorialexplains.Idon'tknowifit'sjustmeoraglitchsomewhere.

Thomas Says:
July28th,2016at11:16am

Niceidea,butno.

Allyouhavetodois"Edit"theFolderLocker.batfileandyoucanseethepasswordinaTextEditwindow.

SIVAKUMAR.G Says:
July28th,2016at7:55am

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 13/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

ihavedoneeverythingasyousaidbutthenameofthefolderonlychangestoControlPanel.{21EC20203AEA1069A2DD08002B30309D}

Duhduh Says:
July20th,2016at5:52am

Thisisutterlyuseless.

Somuchworktocreateasystemprotectedfolderthat'snotreallypasswordprotected.

AnyWindowsuserthatdisablesthe"Hideprotectedoperatingsystemfiles"willseethis.

Charles Goldberg Says:

July11th,2016at8:51am

Ihavebeenusingthisthepastfewmonths.YesterdayIaddedsomefilestotheLockerandlockedit.Ithenreopenedthehiddenfolderandallmy
filesareGONE.Iamatalostasaremyfiles.Thesewereveryimportantfiles.Anywaytorecoverthem?Thanks.

shyam Says:
July7th,2016at6:38am

WhatifIdeletethatbatchfileafterlockingupthefileswhichiwanttoprotect??

Willthefilesbevisiblethen..orwilltheybedeleted?

Varun Says:
July2nd,2016at11:35am

Thankyou,howeverthefilecanbefoundandopenedusingsearch

madmax Says:
July2nd,2016at11:33am

awesome,itssoeasy.....greatwork

hacel Ann tumale Says:

June29th,2016at9:13pm

IdoitstepbystepandallworksgoodbutwhenItrytoounlockitandputmypassworkcan'tfinditanymore.Plshelpme.

Devao Says:
June17th,2016at4:45am

Thisissoredundant.Allitdoesismakefileshidden.Icanstillreadthem.Useless.

Rachit Taneja Says:

June16th,2016at12:54pm

Thisprocedurejusthidesthefolder.OnceyouchecktheshowhiddenfilesandfolderoptionyoucanseeafoldernamedControlPanel...andall
yourfilesareinit.

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 14/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

Tony Fullalove Says:

June14th,2016at6:12am

Excellentarticle,manythanksworksanabsolutetreatinWin10.noneedforanyofthosedodgy3rdpartySWprogrammes,thanksagain

Gbenga Adesina Says:

May22nd,2016at3:21am

Thisisamazing!Tombupbro,itworkedforme.Re:followtheinstructiononthescreenshortsclosely,it'slikeABC

Kirstin Fitzpatrick Says:

May12th,2016at2:09pm

Thenewfolderwon`tappear!Isthereawayformetocancelthis?It`slikeIdeletedit!Itwon`tcomeback.pleasehelpme.

annonamous Says:
May10th,2016at1:46am

Itrytogeneratefolder,butnothinghappens.Thescreenblinksandnonewfolderappears.Pleasehelp!

Amikkumar Says:
April29th,2016at12:18pm

Hey,Ilostallmyfile.Itwasmorethan5000filescollection.

AllstepsweregoodbutnowwhenIopenFolderLocker.batandentermypassword..itgivessomemessage"unexpectederror"orsomethingand
commandscreencloses.Thefilesdoesnotshowup

Whydidyoudothis?

Spiros Says:
March30th,2016at12:58pm

Thefilesarejusthiddenfromview.Theyarenotreallyprotected.AllyouhavetodoisclickontheViewtabonthemenu,Options,Vue,andenable
theviewhiddenfilesandfolders.TheLockedfolderwillbevisibleonceagainandyoucanaccessallthefileswithoutapassword.

raghav Says:
March15th,2016at10:49am

Iwassurfingonwebandfounguradviceiknewhowtodoitbutneveruseitbecauseitcanbechangedeasilybyrightclickingonthe.batfileand
clickeditthenanyonecanchangethepassword.

Rick Zhang Says:

March14th,2016at7:56pm

IhavesomeexperiencewithbatfilesbutIcouldnothavemadethis.THANKS!

Robert Says:
March13th,2016at1:18pm

ForsomereasonmyLockerwillnotlockanymore.ThecommandpromptwindowtoconfirmlockingcomesupbutwhenIputtheyinforyesandhit
enterthepromptwindowgoesawaybuttheLockerdoesn'tdisappear.Workedgreatuntilnow.Canyouhelp?

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 15/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

Johny Says:
March12th,2016at6:08am

afteripressYitdoesntdoanything

elnor Says:
March9th,2016at1:56pm

STEPNO.18ISNOTSHOWINGANDNOTWORKING

Jay Buckley Says:

March3rd,2016at4:45pm

Thisroutinehasaserioussecurityproblem.IfIrightclickonthe.batfile,edit,Icanseethecodeincludingthepassword.Notterriblysecure!

DISPLAY MORE COMMENTS

Backtotop

ASK A QUESTION
HowdoI... PUBLISH

SUBSCRIBE
enteremailhere... SUBMIT

TOP RATED LAPTOPS

Best Overall

1 Dell XPS 13 (Kaby

Lake CPU)

Best Gaming Laptop

2 Asus ROG G752VS

OC Edition

Best College Laptop

3 Lenovo ThinkPad
13

Best Laptop Under $500

4 Asus VivoBook
E403SA

Best 2-in-1

5 HP Spectre x360

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 16/17
02.12.2016. HowToPasswordProtectaFolderinWindows10

HOME ABOUT US

SUBSCRIBE TO LAPTOP
enteremailhere...

Copyright2016AllRightsReserved.

http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/passwordprotectfolderwindows10 17/17