FileShield

One of the fastest way to secure files is adding them inside a password-protected archive, for which you don’t need a lot of effort, but it can be rather time-consuming to work with files inside an archive. As an alternative, FileShield wants to help you put a lock on any file and only access it with the configured password.

You can see what the application is capable of as soon as download is done, because there’s no setup involved to make the program work. As such, it can even be carried around and used directly from a USB flash drive for more flexibility. It doesn’t alter system registry entries, so the target PC remains clean.

All the application has to offer is found in a custom-made interface, which is quite appealing and intuitive. Only a few fields need to be filled in, even though there are multiple options at your disposal. File selection is done through the browse dialog, because drag and drop is not supported, nor do you have access from the context menu.

Apart from the target file, mandatory fields consist of a title, and a password. You can write a command line parameter for special access, whether or not to generate a file UID, and even the possibility to set expiry date. Note that you don’t need the original file, but editing doesn’t save your changes here.

You’re free to protect any kind of file, which can mean executables, images, or plain text. The original file is left intact, and a new EXE file is created as a means of accessing content. A prompt shows up to provide the password. Sadly, you can’t set any actions when too many wrong attempts are made.

All things considered, we can state that FileShield is a practical application you can use to put a lock on virtually any kind of file. It comes in a lightweight package, and also offers the possibility to use command line parameters, and set expiry date.