Do you have any important files on your computer? Do you want to hide them from others? In this tutorial of Windows 10, we’re going to show you how to completely hide files, folders, and drives in Windows 10.
If you don’t have a personal computer and use it as a shared, you may want to hide some files. The main reason for hiding files in Windows 10 can be considered privacy. If you have important and sensitive data that you don’t want anyone to see, hiding folders can be a great option to strengthen your security. In this article of MAZHD, we are going to teach you how to hide files in Windows 10.
1: Hide files in Windows 10 using Command Prompt (cmd)
One simple way to hide a file in Windows 10 is to change its properties using the command in the command prompt section. Let’s say you want to hide the Sample.mp4 file in the ToHide folder.
You can open the command prompt (cmd) by pressing the Windows + R keys combination. Then type cmd . exe and click OK. Then you need to enter the following command code. Note that you must replace the path and file name with the path and name of the file you want.
attrib C:\Users\Lori\Documents\ToHide\Sample.mp4 +s +hThe plus s and plus h symbols are the attributes you set for the file. In fact, the Plus s feature is related to the system file and shows that it is for use by the operating system and is not usually displayed in the list. Plus h is also a feature of the Hidden file, indicating that the file will not be displayed by default in the lists. The command prompt section will not show any sensitivity to the use of uppercase or lowercase letters.
It will not be visible when you open the folder in the Explorer file and it contains the hidden file or folder. It’s interesting to note that even going to the View section and selecting Show or Hide options can’t reveal your hidden folder.
You can also hide a folder using the command code in the following way. As it turns out, you also need to replace the path name and folder with the default command code name and path.
attrib C:\Users\Lori\Documents\ToHide\AnotherFolder +s +hTo avoid hiding the file, use the same command and replace the plus (+) symbol with a dash (-) in front of S and H.
attrib C:\Users\Lori\Documents\ToHide\Sample.mp4 -s -hIf you want to know more information on the attrib command, you can type attrib /? in the command prompt and press Enter.
2: Hide the Windows 10 files using the Explorer file
Using the Explorer file to hide a folder is like using the command that was mentioned in the previous section, but it is less secure. Anyone who knows how to display or hide files in the File Explorer can access the files they have hidden.
If you want to hide important and personal files in Windows 10 from other family members who do not have enough information about technology, it will be acceptable. Hiding files is not the only trick that can be done with File Explorer. You can set the Hidden feature with the files selected in the Explorer file, but you must first make sure that the files with the Hidden feature are not displayed in the Explorer file. To do this, go to the View tab and click Options. Then you need to select the Change Folder and Search for the Options.
On the View tab, select the Don’t Show Hidden Files option, which is at the bottom of the Advanced Settings, and finally, select the OK option.
To hide one or more files, you need to select a number of them and after right-clicking, select Properties. In the General tab in the Properties box, you should check the Hidden box. Also, to prevent files from appearing in Windows search results, just click Advanced.
Then check the boxes in the File section in the Advanced Settings box, and finally confirm.
To remove folders and files from hidden mode, go to the Properties section and uncheck the Hidden boxes.
3: Use the registry editor to hide drives in Windows 10
This method will hide a drive instead of hiding the files.
Note: This method involves changing the registry. Before beginning, we suggest that you back up your registry settings.
If you are not comfortable using the Windows registry or do not want to use this method, you can use other methods to hide a complete drive.
To get started, you need to press the Windows + R key combination and then open the registry editor to open the command box. Then type Open Regedit and click Ok.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ExplorerYou need to right-click on the explorer key and select DWORD (32bit) Value from the New section.
The new name of the drive is NoDrives, which you have to double-click. In the Value Data box, enter the number you want, and then check the Decimal box.
Note that the number 64 in the image indicates our choice. In fact, our decision to name this drive was G, which is 64. The following table can help you if you need more drives.
After restarting the computer, you will not see the drive in File Explorer. To show the drive again, go back to the registry editor and delete the NoDrives value below the following address and restart:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer key
4: Hide drives using Disk Management
As we said in the previous section, if you prefer not to use registry editing, you can use disk management tools to completely hide a drive. This tool displays all internal and external drives connected to the computer. Press the Windwos + R keys to open the command prompt. Then in the corresponding box, type the command code “Open diskmgmt.msc” and click Ok.
Select the drive you want to hide and click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
In the Change Drive Letter and Paths box, select the name of the drive you want, and after clicking on the Remove option, you must select OK.
The alert box will display a message stating that some programs are installed on the drive and that there may be problems after hiding. If you are sure that you want to hide the drive, just click Yes and the message will disappear.
The drive name has been removed from the Disk Management Utility. After closing and reopening the Explorer file, the drive will not be visible and will not be included in Windows search results. In order for the drive you want to be visible and unlocked again, you need to re-enter Disk Management and open the Change Drive Letter and Paths box. Then you can click Add.
Make sure the drive name is selected correctly. Select the name of the drive you want from the drop-down list and click OK.
To view the drive again, you need to close the Explorer file and open it again.
5: Hide files in Windows 10 using a third-party program
Not all of these methods are as safe as some third-party programs. Here are some third-party apps.
FileFriend
Use the JPK tab in FileFriend to hide files in the form of a JPEG image and add a password to protect hidden files. FileFriend also allows you to enter the text you want to hide directly in the image, and you don’t need to create a text file to do so.
Other features of these software is that you can share or encrypte files.
Secret Disk
This program allows you to create a virtual drive that is visible and supported by a password. There is also another security layer pinned down that will be necessary to open the Secret Disk application. Once the drive is visible, you will see it with a name in the Explorer file. You can also copy files and folders to the drive and work with it like any other drive. You can then hide the drive again.
Note that Secret Disk does not require formatting your hard drive or making any other changes to the system. It will also not encrypt any files or folders. Hiding and protecting passwords will restrict access to files. The original version of Secret Disk is free. The Pro version is priced at $ 14.95 due to more features.
Easy File Locker
Easy File Locker can be considered a free software to use that allows you to hide or lock files from other people. Note that files are protected against any editing, deleting, moving, renaming or copying. All files will be protected in one folder.
You can log in to the program and set the password you want from the System section. Of course, you don’t need to set a password, but if you don’t, other people can log in and easily view all the hidden files.
To add files to Easy File Locker, use the Add File and Add Folders option. To change its permissions, just double-click on a file in the list. Protect files using the Start Protection option. Clicking Stop Protection will make the files visible again.
My Lockbox
This program allows you to hide and protect all files in the system. While you are installing My Lockbox, you must specify the path to hide and protect the files. When the installation of the program is finished, the folder you want will be automatically hidden and locked. Two new icons have been added to your desktop. My Lockbox symbol allows you to quickly lock and unlock your protected folder. Use the Lockbox Control Panel to access more options. After entering the password, the following window will be displayed:
You can change the Set Folder, the folder you want to protect, and you can use the Remove option to unlock and delete the folder. Note that the Open option can automatically unlock the lock and reopen the lock folder. You can click Advanced to access more options and settings.
The free version of My Lockbox allows you to hide and protect a folder with an unlimited number of subfolders. If you need to protect more folders, you can get the advanced version. Of course, if you don’t want to buy the advanced version, you can put all the folders in one folder and hide it.
Some impractical ways to hide Windows 10
In addition to the methods we taught to hide your files in Windows 10, there are two other methods that you may or may not use them.
Hide files in Windows 10 in a JPEG image
We tested how to hide files in a JPEG image using the following command code, and we were able to succeed in adding the RAR file in JPEG image.
copy /b C:\Path\To\File\OriginalImage.jpg + FilesToHide.rar C:\Path\To\File\NewImageWithHiddenFiles.jpg
However, I can’t extract files after adding them to JPEG, even using various programs such as 7-Zip, WinRAR and PeaZip. It is possible to hide the file in a video format using the FileFriend tool.
Hide folders in Windows 10 by guiding them to the control panel
There is another way you can hide a folder by redirecting it to the control panel. In general, you can create two files, one that locks the folder and the other that opens it. When you lock the folder, opening it will take you to the control panel. However, we tested this method in Windows 7, 8 and 10 and could not use it. Although the files were locked, it was easy to open and re-view the content.
If you want to try it out, you can create a folder called Users or Fonts and put the files you want to hide in them. Then create a text file and copy and paste the following command code into it.
You can replace Users with your folder name. Save this folder as Lock.bat.
ren Users Users.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}Then create a text file and copy and paste the following command code into it. You will need to replace your folder with Users again. Save this file as key.bat.
ren Users.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} UsersYou can double-click the Lock.bat file to hide the folder path to the control panel and hide the contents of the folder.
Note that hiding files in Windows 10 without encryption cannot be successful. All of the methods listed in this article can help you hide the sensitive information you have.
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As you saw it was very easy to hide files, folders and drives in Windows 10. If you any question about this article or about any other topic just leave a comment down below.
