System Vault

In case you don’t want others to have access to files and folders on your computer, there’s the possibility to simply hide them using Windows default features. Of course, this can be greatly enhanced with the help of applications like System Vault, which also secures them with an extra password.

The first step is to set a master password so only you can lock and unlock files and folders that need to stay away from prying eyes. Needless to say that the process is simple, requiring a new keyword and confirmation, but there’s no generator to help you out.

With the main window up, initial choices aren’t pretty abundant, so you sooner or later end up in the hide file or folder process. However, the selection dialog is difficult to go through, and it can become frustrating to hide more folders, especially since you can’t select more at a time. What’s more, there’s no context menu integration, and drag and drop has no effect.

The selection dialog can be toggled for file selection, in which case things become a lot easier. Your selection of files and folders are hidden on the spot. If you happen to have Windows configured to show you hidden files and folders, then you might be disappointed to find the application doesn’t come with its own method, and uses the system one.

Another thing the application can do is get rid of most recently used items, which translates into the equivalent of cleaning your browser history. This prevents others from going over your recent activity, but again, it’s nothing that can’t be done through normal Windows features.

You need to go through a similar process in order to unhide files and folders. The application doesn’t keep a list of target items, and you need to either manually write down or paste the full path of the hidden item, which can become difficult to get ahold of, considering it’s not visible.

All things considered, we come to the conclusion that System Vault might leave you a little disappointed, since it only wraps regular Windows features in a difficult menu. There’s no particular method to hide files and folders other than what’s already available, while the overall process can easily become frustrating.