Encrypt files on your pc

Note that they will still have the encrypted files on their system as well. Some applications now have options to encrypt the types of files they themselves use. From now on, the only way to view this document will be by entering the password when prompted from within a Microsoft Office application that supports the unencrypted file type.

But please see the next section to eliminate any possible unencrypted copies of the file on your computer. Eliminate any possible unencrypted copies of the file If you use 7-zip or Microsoft Office to encrypt files, it is likely that Windows 10 still has one or more temporary copies of the unencrypted files stashed on the disk. To be safe, you will want to delete all temporary files once you are done encrypting things.

Built into Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise, BitLocker Device Encryption does exactly what it sounds like — it encrypts all the storage devices in your system. Happily for us, there is a great alternative available. Called VeraCrypt , it addresses all of the drawbacks we just saw:.

Without getting into the OpenSource vs Proprietary software argument that plagues the computer world, from our perspective, FOSS software is generally considered more secure, and of course is free to use. Once VeraCrypt is installed, all you need to do is enter your VeraCrypt password whenever you start the computer.

While installing VeraCrypt is much simpler than the alternative, there is more to it than just launching an installer and pressing Okay a few times. And if you mess up, there is a chance you will lose files or even access to the entire disk drive. We suggest you read through the instructions that follow before starting the process. If you are not confident you can complete the steps shown, or if you have a bad habit of losing important passwords, it is better to skip this type of encryption.

The Wizard displays the Number of Operating Systems window. Is your system dual-boot or multi-boot you can start the system in various operating systems? If so, select Multi-boot. Otherwise, select Single-boot. Click the Next button to continue. The Wizard displays the Encryption Options window. Both are widely-used algorithms that will serve you well. The Wizard displays the Password window.

It is important to choose strong passwords if you want your system to be secure. Many password manager programs such as our top pick, Bitwarden include password generators that can help you create a strong one. Note: VeraCrypt will hassle you about it if you choose a password less than 20 characters long.

The Wizard displays the Collecting Random Data window. You will be required to move your mouse around randomly within the window. This additional randomness increases the strength of your encryption keys. Once the randomness meter at the bottom of the window is full you can click the Next button to continue. The Wizard displays the Keys Generated window. There is nothing you need to do here except click the Next button to continue. The explanation for this appears in the following image.

If you want to live dangerously you can set the Skip Rescue Disk verification checkbox to avoid being forced to create a physical rescue disk. Unless you selected the Skip Rescue Disk verification option in the last step you are now going to be forced to create a physical rescue disk and allow VeraCrypt to inspect it to see if you did it right. Remember finding a spare USB drive a little while ago? It is time to insert that USB drive into your system. Now navigate to the location where VeraCrypt stored its Rescue Disk in the previous step.

Once that is done, click Next so VeraCrypt can check your work. Remove the USB drive from the computer and click Next.

The Wizard displays the Wipe Mode window. Make sure the Wipe Mode is set to None fastest and click Next to continue. We are getting there. The Wizard now displays the System Encryption Pretest window. The image below explains what will happen in detail. Click Test to see how it goes. Note that VeraCrypt will probably ask you to print some more warnings and emergency procedures and the like before it actually does the test, so be ready for that.

Assuming everything went well, you should see the following window once you have successfully restarted your computer and passed the system encryption pretest. Encrypting important information is one of the best things you can do to protect yourself from everyone who is trying so hard to get their hands on your personal information. In this guide we covered techniques that Windows 10 users can use to encrypt individual files, folders, and entire drives on their Windows systems.

Masthead credit: eamesBot. Before we go further, here are a couple of points to keep in mind: With Windows 7 now unsupported, and Windows 8 best forgotten as fast as possible, this guide deals only with the Windows 10 operating system. If you are encrypting a file to share with someone else and need to give them the password, you should not send them that password using the same method that you send them the file. For example, if you plan to email them the file, it would be a big security risk to also email them the password.

Ideally give them the password over the telephone, a secure messaging app like Signal or Wickr Me. At the very least send it via a different email service than the one you will use for the file. In this guide, we will explain how to encrypt files in Windows using native features and third party apps. This is your choice, but most people use encryption to protect the following kinds of data assets:.

Alternatively, you could use a third party encryption application. If you are looking for a way to encrypt text files such as Word documents and PDFs, you can also encrypt those files inside Microsoft Office. And, if you want to encrypt Excel databases, you can do that too.

Below we will walk you through some of the most popular methods for encrypting on your computer. The easiest and fastest way to encrypt files securely on your hard drive is to use Windows native encryption tool.

This kind of encryption is secure and fast, which means it can be used to encrypt any individual files you need to secure - no matter their size. If you are a Home Edition user, you will need to encrypt files using a third party encryption app instead, which we cover later in this guide.

If you have got a compatible version of Windows 10, you can encrypt files almost right away. Before you get to this, however, you will need to do two things:. Ensure that your Windows user account has been set up with a password that is strong and hard to crack.

Using EFS requires your user account to have a password, and unless that password is strong, it might be brute forced by someone with physical access to the computer.

Your file encryption will only be as strong as your user password, so make sure it is robust. Get a USB thumb drive so you can save the backup key. This will allow you to access your encrypted files if you lose access to your user account.

Password managers are very useful if you plan on password protecting your documents as they can generate long complex passwords and save them securely. Check out our article on the best password managers for a list of the best services and the pros and cons of using one. Now that you have done the preliminary preparation steps, you are ready to enable EFS for specific files or folders. To do so, follow these simple steps:. A window will pop up asking you whether you want to encrypt the selected folder, or the folder, sub-folders, and files.

Choose either Apply changes to this folder only or Apply changes to this folder, sub-folders, and files. Now that you have encrypted your first file, Windows EFS will serve you an icon in the system tray in the bottom right-hand side of your screen.

Click on it to back up your key. On the security screen, tick the box next to Password and type in a password. You will need to enter it twice to confirm it is the right password. Now click the filename field and type in EFSKey. Or call the file whatever you prefer. Once the backup key has been exported, keep the USB drive safe. If you ever find yourself locked out of your Windows user account, you can use the key to recover the encrypted files on your PC. BitLocker is a proprietary full volume encryption tool for Windows that lets users encrypt their entire hard drive securely.

BitLocker is different to EFS because it does not allow users to encrypt single files and folders when their operating system is running. For this kind of encryption, users will require either EFS or a third party encryption tool. It is only available for Windows Pro and Enterprise users. BitLocker is suitable for anybody who wants to ensure that their entire hard drive is encrypted every time they log out of Windows and close their computer down. Would you leave your data along with it?

Sometimes you have to leave the drive as well for diagnostics. Your identity can be stolen as well. Whether you are using a USB to transfer the files or attaching someone through email , you must encrypt it. I hope you get the necessity of encrypting your data.

Third-party intervention is required. Windows thankfully offers built-in features which you use to encrypt files and folders. Once your file encryption is completed you will get a notification asking if you want to backup your encryption keys in a certificate.

You can either click there as well to open it, or you can backup in the following way:. Decrypting the file is almost the same process as encrypting, that is through the following steps:. You might upgrade to a new computer at some point and transferring encrypted adat might seem like a hassle.

But remember that encryption certificate we exported in a flash drive? It will be of use to you now. There are several compatible encryption software for Windows that you can use to encrypt your files and folders. Some of the most reliable ones are as follows:.