Password Locking Folders: The Final Solution, Does it Exist?

[CaptainKahuna]

Yes this question has been asked before, I've even answered it a few times, but I was never satisfied with the answers I got or the answers I gave, so I'm posting one last time:

I'm running XP Pro, and I want to password protect a folder. No, I don't want to use seprate user accounts, don't ask, long story. I don't want to hide the folder or its contents, as some apps do. And I really don't need encryption.

I want one simple operation and nothing else. All I want is to double click the folder, and recieve a small dialouge asking for a password. Password corrent, open folder. Password incorrect, do nothing, don't open folder. I don't even care how many times you can guess incorrectly.

Does anyone know how to achieve this? Can be a 3rd party app (probably), or a built in Windows XP fuction. I don't care how it's achived, just that it works.

Tried all kinds of things, including Folder Guard and Encrypted Magic Folders, none do this one simple thing. They want to hide in the background and protect the folder, and not let anyone access it until I call up their program and disable it.

The whole key to this is that I am looking for the password prompt at the time I try to open the folder. Thanks for the help guys, help me try to answer this longstanding "partial solution".

Captain

 

[HJB417]

is your partition NTFS or FAT. You can limit folder access in win2k using NTFS but I don't know if WinXP does the same. It should though,

 

[CaptainKahuna]

It's NTFS, but this still requires separate user accounts, which is a bad thing in my case.

 

[HJB417]

I have no clue
=(
try a google search though


http://www.softstack.com/

 

[Haden]

I don't know such program, but you can try this:
create another account (not for login thought), set permissions on "protected folders".
Every time you want to access "protected" folders just do "Run as..." on explorer.exe (and select new user),
you'll get explorer which has enough permissions to enter these folders (while all other programs won't be able to access them).

After you done working with contents of "protected" folder just close "privileged" explorer - no one can enter folders again.
You can create a shortcut to run program as different user (check link->properties->advanced).

So the end solution would look like this:
Start "special" explorer from shortcut, asks user name and password, access folders, close explorer.
Of course it's not that convinient as you describe...

 

[CaptainKahuna]

Hey, great idea, thats the best solution I've heard so far! Thanks.

 

[ElDonAntonio]

With FolderGuard, you don't have to "call up the program" to disable the protection and access the folder. Just right-click on the protected folder and select Unlock. It'll prompt for the password and give you access. When you're done, right-click again and select Lock.

As simple as that, but it's a rather expensive software for what it does IMO.

 

[CaptainKahuna]

bump