14 DAY TRIAL // To some people, having a PC is like having a pet. You play with it because it brings you joy, you have to ?feed? it with the latest drivers in order to stay fit, you ?train? it with security softwares to keep you safe from the bad guys, you clean it so it won't get messy and you turn it off for it too needs some rest. As there are pet owners that don't treat their animals right, there are also persons for whom a PC is something that doesn't need taking care of and moreover, let other people ?torture? it.
Even if there are a lot of ways to prevent harming your computer, some of them just can't be good enough when it comes to persons who really want to damage it. Hidden files can eventually be viewed, Read only attribute can be removed, changing the name of the file is kind of lame for you too might delete it so there are two more options left. One is setting up User Accounts and creating a non admin account. This could be safe but with Vista, even the administrator could encounter disturbing issues when it comes to handling important files.
The last option left is to password protect your files. But the problem with passwords is that they can be cracked or worse, forgotten. But if you can fix the forgetting problem, there is a software that fixes the cracking one. File And Folder Protector is an application that is able to protect both files and folders in five different ways. The Hide option puts your protected files into invisible mode making them inaccessible to Windows and other programs. The Hide Name Only option is less protective than the first one but if in Hide mode not even you can open that file/folder, this one allows files to be accessible although they are invisible. Its name doesn't appear in the directory where it is located but, using the full file name, both you and any file manager can open it.
The Read Only attribute that the application is able to assign to a file/folder is the most risk-free one because the file is visible and accessible but cannot be deleted, renamed or modified. You might say that this option is also available in the properties window of that file. But when assigning the attribute in this way, one can restore its normal status. With File And Folder Protector, this is impossible because the only way to reverse the process is to unlock it using the application and the program is accessible only by password. When I said that this is the safest way of protection I meant that if by lack of chance one forgets the password, the file is not lost, it?s not invisible, it?s fully accessible just that it cannot be damaged.
The last two means of protection imply passwords. The Password With Context Menus Method assures visibility to the files but they are inaccessible. The only way to open it is to right-click on the file and a context menu will pop allowing you to password unlock the file. The second password protection method is called Password With Auto-Popup. Files and folders protected by this method are visible but inaccessible. When a user or application tries to open it, a dialog pops asking for the password. The developer recommends not applying this method to a root directory because Windows Explorer starts reading a drive's content from it. Also, Windows Explorer reads contents of subfolders for each showed folder. That is why it is a good idea to use this protection method for files/folders located in subfolders of more than 2 levels.
In order skip protection, the application has a password protected unlock tool. For a period of time that can be set in the Options menu, the file is no longer protected thus it can be viewed, moved, deleted, in other words, it is fully accessible. The application proves to be quite indulgent with human's forgetting habits and allows two active passwords, just in case one of them is ?misplaced?. A series of customizable Hot Keys and Magic Words ease the use of the program. For example, if you want to quickly unlock a file, you can use either the default CTRL+SHIFT+U combination or the default ?unlockfiles? magic word. The advantage of setting your own key combination or magic words is that you can choose the ones that you are sure to remember.
But enough with the pink situation. The downside of this application is that the means by which it protects/blocks the files is by using a special driver that works at Windows Kernel level. This is a double sided situation because there is no way for someone to reverse the protection method or to crack it but on the other side, a kernel driver can easily lead to system instability, if it is not compatible with other drivers installed on your PC. If by any chance feel like uninstalling the application, make sure that at least one of the passwords is at hand for you will be asked for it.
The Good
It is a very secure application that works at kernel level so no other person or application can unlock your protected files without a suitable password. It allows two active passwords just in case one is forgotten and supports hot keys for starting/stopping the protection. It also places itself in the context menu so you can easily protect a file/folder.
The Bad
If its driver is not compatible with the system ones, your OS may encounter the feared Blue Screen. The system (Windows Vista Home Basic) on which the application was tested crashed twice. It might not be the application's problem but it is best to test it to the full before you buy it. Even if the developer assures the Vista compatibility, the help file is useless for ?The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which was used in the previous versions of Windows and it is not supported in Windows Vista.?(Windows Help and Support)
The Truth
File And Folder Protector is an easy-to-use application that has a perfect yet dangerous way of protecting files. It might be unstable or create instability if its driver is not compatible with the system ones eventually leading to blue screens. If the stability issue is fixed, it might even worth its 49$.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
