Please suggest a software to password protect and hide data on Windows 7.

October 25, 2009 1:08 AM

How do I password protect a folder or partition in windows 7 and also not have its contents included in Windows index or Everything.

I do not want encryption, only password protection, so please don't suggest Truecrypt. I was using a software called My Lockbox and it does the job well but its contents still get indexed by Windows and Everything. I can exclude its location but is there a software that just password protects the stuff and makes sure the files are not read by indexing softwares even while the folder is unlocked.

I am not looking to hide it from anyone seriously looking for anything who'll run software/Live CDs to access the data. Just want to hide the embarrassing stuff from casual family users.

posted by libbrichus to computers & internet (7 comments total)

This link has a method for doing it on XP, not sure if it works on 7. There's also a link at the bottom to something called "Free Hide Folder" that might be helpful.
posted by mattholomew at 5:05 AM on October 25

Not sure if this will still work on Windows 7, but I used Microsoft Private Folder to create a password protected directory on one of my XP boxes. Microsoft pulled the tool (because there was no way to unlock it if the password got lost), but it's still available online.

I seem to recall I couldn't index the folder but YMMV.
posted by JaredSeth at 7:12 AM on October 25

Just noticed that you mentioned indexing when the folder is unlocked...that part I'm not sure about. My Private Folder showed up as something like a device namespace though so it might naturally be excluded from indexing.
posted by JaredSeth at 7:14 AM on October 25

If you want to more than casually hide your files your best option is something that uses Alternate Data Streams. One you might look at is Alternate Data Streams Tools. You'll need to have your partition formatted with NTFS for it to work.
posted by scalefree at 8:50 AM on October 25

I do not want encryption, only password protection, so please don't suggest Truecrypt.

To me, this is kind of like saying you don't want locks, only keyholes. What's your rationale for rejecting encryption?

I won't suggest Truecrypt, but I will point out that NTFS supports encryption natively.

Also, if all you want is a way to make sure other people don't accidentally run into your pr0n stash, you could keep it on a USB stick and unplug it when it's not in use. Plug the stick into your computer, right-click on it under My Computer, select Properties, and turn off the "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk" checkbox.
posted by flabdablet at 5:36 PM on October 25 [1 favorite]

Okay, thanks for all the suggestions. I tried truecrypt and it was too much of a hassle. Guess I'll stick to My Lockbox for now and turn off the folder's indexing.
posted by libbrichus at 6:18 AM on October 27

NTFS encryption, by contrast, is mostly hassle-free.
posted by flabdablet at 6:51 AM on October 27