14 DAY TRIAL // I know that some of your are not OK with people looking through your computer. But sometimes there is no other way, especially with the computer at the office. Even at home there may be someone ready to snoop inside your files. One of the solutions is to create an account for those that have access to your computer.
Another way is to change the attribute of the folders you need to protect into "hidden"; although this method is hyper known and - if you use Windows Explorer as file manager - every hidden file or folder will be revealed with no problems.
But a smarter method would be to have your files locked with a password. That is easy to achieve, considering that you can apply passwords to archives. The drawback of this method however is that - whenever you want to open them - you will have to wait for the compression software to parse it first. How about if you had a folder of your own where to keep all your top secret data, and no one could have access to it without your password?
Examples of such softwares are all over the place, Privatize Deluxe, Advanced File Lock and WinGuard Pro to name just a few of them. They all have some distinct valuable features and yet they keep missing something.
The software I am going to present is actually very simple to use and it is not loaded with lots of features. All it does is create a place on your computer where you can safely store your valuable data. Its name is Microsoft Private Folder and the developer is none other than Microsoft. Strange enough is the fact that the software is free of charge, but we are not here to analyze Microsoft's actions.
However, it is very thoughtful of them to give the users a free alternative even with a software that is not too complicated. I cannot say anything about the interface, because it is inexistent. This software is WYSIWYG as it has nothing to hide, but creates the necessary environment for you to protect your personal data. It is only the beginning of the application as the version reviewed is 1.0.
The program actually creates a folder on your computer and you get to protect it by applying a password in order to lock it and unlock it. After installing it on your machine and launching it for the first time, you will be prompted with a welcome message. Click Next and you will see yourself requested to set the password for the created folder. As you type in the password you will see that the Strength Indicator will show you the level of protection provided by the pass key.
A message below tells you the characteristics of your password (between 6-16 characters long, only A to Z letters, caps included and numbers 0 to 9). You are warned that forgetting this password will lead to not being able to access the folder, ergo all the data contained will be lost.
That was the final step. Now you can access the folder directly from your Desktop, or by going into the Documents and Settings folder on drive C:. Now you can fill it with whatever you want nobody else to see. After finishing your work it is enough to right-click on the icon in the system tray and choose Lock My Private Folder option. Every time you lock and unlock the folder you will hear a specific sound that alerts you that the operation succeeded.
Some other features of the software are its ability to auto-lock if the idle time is over the user's setting. The Import and Export features allow the user to export the files inside the private folder to other location on the computer. Note that the files exported will not function well unless you import them again in the private folder. The folder can be opened, but the file will just not work. For importing the files back you are going to need the password.
The Good
The software is free and works like a charm. You will not find any difficulties and the software will not stay in your way. I particularly liked the auto-lock feature. The user can set an idle time and, after it is exceeded, the folder will lock by itself.
The Bad
I wanted to move the folder to another disk, but it seems to be impossible. Moving the folder around would have given the software much more flexibility. Personally, I keep my C: drive strictly for the Program Files folder and system files and I do not want any other file to be in there.
The Truth
Despite the little baddie mentioned above, the software is very good. I am sure that future versions will include the moving around of the folder. But it beats all the other softwares out there through its simplicity and ease of use.
All the other similar softwares out there (Privatize Deluxe, Advanced File Lock, Winguard Pro, etc.), besides having a price, are a bit more complicated to use.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
