I have, however, found this setting useful for folders I don’t want to see-like the folders my PC games add to my Documents folder. So, we’ve rewritten the article with instructions on how to hide and/or password protect files, with information on how secure each method really is. It causes loads of problems for many users who don’t know what they’re doing, and the password does nothing to protect you from snoopers-you might as well just hide the file. You can still find this trick all over the internet, but we do not recommend using it.

It involved hiding a folder on your system and using a “password” to unhide it-even though any user could still unhide it without the password. But that trick, while mildly clever, did not actually protect anything behind a password. Got some files you don’t want other people to see? Or maybe they’re just cluttering up your Documents folder, and you want to hide them? Here are a few different ways to obscure your files, and when you might want to use each.Įditor’s Note: This article, originally published in 2014, used to contain instructions that claimed to password protect folders without extra software.

How do i put a password on my computer