How To Hide Files On Your Computer

There are many reasons you may need to hide files on your computer. There are also several methods for hiding these files, and the simplest ones are quite effective for most people. Start by bringing multiple files you want hidden together into the same folder, if practical. It’s quicker to hide an entire folder than to hide individual files.

Learn How To Hide Files On Your Computer With Free Computer Maintenance

image courtesy of flickr user: hiddedevries

How To Hide Files

1. Open Windows Explorer (or My Computer) and locate the files or folders you want to hide.
2. Select the files or folders you want to hide. You can select them one at a time, or you can select the first one, hold down the CTRL key, and then select each additional file or folder by clicking on them. Once you have chosen your files or folders, right-click one of them. A QuickMenu will pop up.
3. Look for Properties at the bottom and click. In the window that shows up, look for a checkbox labeled “Hidden” at the bottom. Select the checkbox and then click “OK.”
4. If you have multiple files in this folder, a prompt will ask if you want to hide only the file or all subfolders and files. Select whichever you prefer. Your computer will process this, then your hidden files and folders will vanish.
5. To find hidden files and folders later, navigate back to this file. Go to the “Tools” menu at the top, then click “Folder Options.” Select “View.” In the list displayed, look for the entry that says, “Show Hidden Files and Folders” – it will be about the tenth or eleventh entry in the list. When you click on it, ghostlike images of your files will appear, and you can navigate them just like regular files. When you’re ready to hide files again, go back to the Folder Options | View screen and select “Do Not Show Hidden Files and Folders.”

Just in case your hidden file is found by someone poking around on your computer, it might be a good idea to password it as well. This is easier to do before you hide the files, but you can do it in either order.

How To Password Hidden Files

Windows does not provide password protection for regular files, so in order to password your files you’ll have to compress them into a zip file.

1. Keep or place data in a single file folder on your computer.
2. Right-click an empty space either in My Computer or on the desktop. Select “New,” then select “Create New Compressed Folder.”
3. Drag the files you want to hide and password into the new folder, just as you would with a regular folder.
4. Now double-click the compressed folder to open it. Go to “File” and select “Add a Password.”
5. Close everything. Hide your new compressed folder as you hid the other files above. Now even if an intruder found hidden files on your computer, they still cannot access anything without a password.

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