Use VeraCrypt to encrypt and password protect files and folders. Windows doesn’t have a convenient way of encrypting a single folder on your computer. You could use BitLocker if you have a Pro version of Windows, or maybe Device Encryption on some Home versions. But they’re both for whole disk encryption.
To encrypt a folder (and all the files within it) you’ll need to use third party software. VeraCrypt is free and open source and will encrypt and password protect any files or folders on your PC.
What it does is to create an encrypted virtual drive on your system. Any files or folders that you store inside this virtual drive will automatically be encrypted. Only accessible by entering the correct password that you’ve set.
Download And Install VeraCrypt
Download and install VeraCrypt. You can grab it from here https://veracrypt.io/en/Downloads.html
- Download the latest EXE Installer
- Launch the installer from your browser or wherever you saved the download to
- When you installation is finished, launch VeraCrypt
How To Encrypt A Folder With VeraCrypt
When VeraCrypt opens, click the Create Volume button. That’ll open the Volume Creation Wizard.
VeraCrypt can encrypt your hard drives and even your system drive, in much the same way that BitLocker does, but for this guide we’re only going to be encrypting a folder.
Select (if it isn’t already) “Create an encrypted file container”. Click the Next button.
Folders, Volumes And Containers
In VeraCrypt a folder is referred to as a container or volume. There are a few technical differences but to you and me they’re one and the same thing.
Encrypted Volume Type.
Your encrypted folder can either be a standard volume or a hidden volume.
- Standard VeraCrypt Volume – This is the regular choice that you’d normally use to protect your files and folders and is the one we’ll use for this guide.
- Hidden VeraCrypt Volume – With this option, VeraCrypt will create a hidden volume inside the regular volume.
Select “Standard VeraCrypt Volume” and click the Next button.
Encrypted Folder Location
Now you have to decide where to store your encrypted folder. You can save it to any of your folders in the same way as you’d save any other file/folder.
Click the Select File button. On the following screen, give the file a name and then save it to any location on your computer.
The encrypted folder will appear as a simple text document. That’s what it looks like. When you name the file, try to give it an innocuous sound name, something that’s not going to arouse any interest or suspicion amongst other users of your computer.
You’ll see the file path appear in the location box.
Click the Next button to proceed.
VeraCrypt Encryption Options
On this screen you can choose the type of encryption that VeraCrypt will use to protect your data.
If you have a specific need, VeraCrypt supports a wide range of encryption methods. Simply open the drop down menu and select the method that suits you best.
Personally, I’d just leave it at its default settings which is AES and a Hash Algorithm of SHA 512
Click the Next button.
Set The Encrypted Volume Size.
Now we come to one of the differences between a folder and a volume. A standard Windows folder doesn’t need to be given a specific size. It’ll just expand as you add more files to it.
The encrypted folder that you’re going to create in VeraCrypt is different. It isn’t a folder as such, it’s a virtual hard drive, and like any other hard drive it needs to have a specific size.
Exactly what capacity you assign to the encrypted volume will depend on how much data you envisage storing in it and obviously how much spare capacity you’ve got available to you.
You can specify a size in Kilobytes, Megabytes, Gigabytes or Terabytes. What Are Kilobytes, Megabytes, Gigabytes And Terabytes?
For this example I’ll go with a 1 Gigabyte drive. Click Next when ready.
Password Protecting An Encrypted Folder
Now you need to add the password that you’ll use to unlock the folder (drive).
The longer and more complex the password that you use, the stronger it’ll be.
Warning, don’t forget the password. Once your files and folders are encrypted in VeraCrypt they can’t be accessed without the correct password.
There’s no backdoor option. VeraCrypt is designed to be unbreakable.
Format The Volume
Now you’ll need to select a file system for your virtual drive to use. VeraCrypt supports FAT, exFAT, NTFS and ReFS. The default is FAT which is usually going to be fine but you could use NTFS since this is the standard format for Windows drives.
With the file system set you then need to move your mouse pointer randomly across the screen. VeraCrypt will collect data about the movements and use this to create a unique encryption for your folder.
- Select the volume file system and then shake your mouse pointer across the screen. You can see your progress and the bottom of the window.
- Keep moving the mouse until the progress bar turns green Click the Format button.
- Click OK and then Exit.
- NTFS: A good choice for Windows-only use, offering high performance and support for large files. However, a potential security risk is that it can leave fragments of the container in the free space of the host drive.
- FAT32: Offers wide compatibility across many operating systems and devices. Its main limitation is the 4GB maximum file size and smaller maximum volume size.
- exFAT: A good option for compatibility across different operating systems, especially for flash drives. It does not have the file size limitations of FAT32.
Your Encrypted Folder
Your encrypted folder will appear on your computer as a simple file. It’ll have the filename that you set and be in the location that you saved it to.
The only clue that the file may not be just a simple text file lies in the Properties box. Right click the file and then select Properties. You’ll see that the size of the file is the size that you set when creating the encrypted drive earlier.
How To Unlock Your Encrypted Folder
Remember that your encrypted folder is actually a virtual drive (or virtual disk). As such, in order to use it you’ll need to mount it first.
To mount and unlock the drive –
- Open VeraCrypt and then click Select File
- Navigate to your file and select it then click the Open button.
- You’ll see the path to your file appear in the box. Select a drive letter from the list above and then click the Mount button.
- You’ll be asked for the password that you set earlier. Enter the password and click the OK button.
The Folder/Drive Is Unlocked – Decrypted
After entering the correct password, VeraCrypt will decrypt your drive/folder ready for use. Note that the drive will be assigned the drive letter that you selected. You can either leave VeraCrypt open or close it.
Open File Explorer and under This PC you’ll find your decrypted virtual drive. You can use it exactly like you would any other drive on your PC.
You can add files using copy and paste, drag and drop, save directly into the drive, view, edit or delete files.
Open File Explorer and under This PC you’ll find your decrypted virtual drive. You can use it exactly like you would any other drive on your PC.
You can add files using copy and paste, drag and drop, save directly into the drive, view, edit or delete files.
To Lock The Drive – Encrypt It
When you’ve finished using the files and folders within the drive you’ll need to lock it, or encrypt it.
Simply open VeraCrypt and click the Unmount button. The drive will be re-encrypted and it’ll disappear from File Explorer.
Summary
It’s a shame that Windows doesn’t support an easy way to encrypt and password protect individual files and folders, but with VeraCrypt, it can be done.
On our computers, we store more and more sensitive personal data. It just makes sense to restrict who has access to that information.
If your folders are encrypted, then your data is protected even if your machine is lost or stolen.
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