How to Lock a Folder on Windows

This wikiHow teaches you how to hide files in a secret locked folder in Windows 10. Press . This opens the File Explorer.

Part 1 of 4:

Creating a Lock File

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    Press ⊞ Win+E. This opens the File Explorer.
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    Double-click the folder you want to lock. This opens the contents of the folder.
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    Right-click an empty part of the folder. A menu will appear.
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    Click New. A list of file types will appear.
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    Click Text Document.
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    Type lock and press ↵ Enter. You now have a text file called 'lock' in the current folder.
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    Double-click the 'lock' file. This opens the blank file in your default text editor (e.g. Notepad). You'll need to paste some code into this file.
Part 2 of 4:

Adding the Lock Code

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    Open a web browser. You can use any web browser on your computer, such as Edge, Chrome, or Firefox.
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    Navigate to https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/password-protect-folder-windows-10. This is the site from which you can copy the code.[1]
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    Scroll down to the code that begins with 'cls @ECHO OFF.' The code begins right after the 6th step in the article.
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    Copy all of the code. To do this, click the mouse before 'cls' and then drag it all the way to the end of the code, then press Ctrl+C.
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    Return to the 'lock' file that's open in your text editor. The file should be blank.
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    Click the mouse cursor in the file and press Ctrl+V. The copied code will appear in the file.
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    Locate and highlight Your-Password-Here. If you're having a hard time finding it, press Ctrl+F to open the Search tool, type your-password-here into the box, then press ↵ Enter. The text should automatically highlight.
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    Type a lock password. Since Your-Password-Here is highlighted, it will disappear once you start typing your lock password. The password you type is the one you'll need to enter to access the folder.
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    Click the File menu. It's at the top of the window.
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    Click Save As….
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    Select All Files from the 'Save As type' drop-down menu. It's the first drop-down menu at the bottom of the window.
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    Change the file name to FolderLocker.bat. To do this, erase what's already in the 'File name' field and type FolderLocker.bat.
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    Click Save. Now you're ready to password-protect your files.
Part 3 of 4:

Locking the Folder

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    Double-click FolderLocker in the File Explorer window. This creates a new folder called Locker in the current folder.[2]
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    Drag the files you want to lock to the Locker folder. Dragging files to this locker will also remove them from their current folder.
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    Double-click FolderLocker. This opens a black window that asks, 'Are you sure u want to lock the folder (Y/N).'
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    Press Y.
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    Press ↵ Enter. The window will disappear, as will the folder called Locker. Don't worry, it's still there—you'll just have to run the FolderLocker script to make it visible.
Part 4 of 4:

Accessing Files in the Locked Folder

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    Double-click the folder where you created the Locker. You can do this from the File Explorer at any time.
    1. This is the folder that contains the file called FolderLocker.
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    Double-click FolderLocker. A black window will appear, asking you to enter the password.
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    Type the Locker password and press ↵ Enter. This brings back the Locker folder, which is now accessible.
Update 04 March 2020
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