3 Effective Ways to Password Protect A Folder in Windows 11

Need to Password Protect A Folder in Windows 11

Nowadays, more and more people are concerned about the privacy of their documents. No one wants to give away their privacy. While Windows can only access the folder while logged into your user account, if your account is shared with family or others, they can access your folder as well.

You may then need to password protect a folder or file in Windows 11. A few common reasons are as follows:

• You want to protect your privacy.
• You do not want people to have access to sensitive documents, either intentionally or unintentionally.
• You have a shared device.

How to Password Protect A Folder in Windows 11

If you want to password protect a folder or file in Windows 11, you have three options. You can use the built-in encryption features in Windows 11. You can also use various third-party software to password protect your files and folders. Now, let's take a look at how to set up folder password in Windows 11 easily.

Way 1. Using Built-in Encryption Function in Windows 11

To password protect a file or folder using the built-in encryption feature (EFS) in Windows 11, first navigate to the location of the file or folder. Then follow the steps below to know how to password protect a folder on Windows 11.

1. Press Windows + E to open Windows File Explorer. Then go to the location of the folder you want to protect with a password.
2. Now right-click on the folder and click Properties. In the folder's properties window click Advanced.

3. In the Advanced Attributes window, you will find a check box that says Encrypt contents to secure data. Check this checkbox, and then click OK.

4. Then return to the main window, and then click on Apply to password protect folders in Windows 11. And this will open an Encryption Warning window, here you will be given two options. We recommend selecting the Encrypt the file and its parent folder option and clicking OK.

5. After doing so, you will get a notification asking you to back up your file encryption certificate key. Click on the Back up now option.

6. Next, insert the USB flash drive into your computer. Follow the on-screen instructions. You must create the encryption certificate, which includes the key to access the encrypted folder, and you must export it to the USB drive you inserted.

7. Make sure you copy the password and write it down somewhere so you don't forget it. When you are done, click OK and close all windows.

Way 2. Password Protect Windows 11 Folder using WinRAR

There are archiving apps such as WinRAR that can protect your folder using a password. You can follow the guide below to learn how to lock a folder in Windows 11 using WinRAR.

1. Download and run WinRAR.

2. Navigate to the folder you want to password protect in File Explorer. Right-click it and choose WinRAR.

3. Tick Delete Files After Archiving. If not, you will have both protected archive folder and unprotected folder on your device.

4. Click on Set Password, input and confirm your password, then click OK to create your archive and add password to folder in Windows 11.

5. You can open it from Windows Explorer to see if it contains your locked folder.

6. If you want to unlock the folder, you can select the folder and choose Extract To on the top. Then, explore the location you want to extract the folder, input the password, and extract it easily.,

Way 3. Using Reliable Software to Password Protect A Folder in Windows 11

In addition to the above tools, you have another option to protect the privacy of your folders. You can use the most secure backup software - AOMEI Backupper to make an encrypted backup for your folders. With its help, you can password protect a folder in Windows 11 with just a few clicks.

Let's see what this software can offer:

👻 It offers you 4 backup options - system backup, disk backup, partition backup, file backup, etc.
🤖 It supports you to store encrypted backups to different locations, such as external hard disk, SD card, network drive, etc.
👾 It allows you to create an automatic backup task to backup your folders regularly. It ensures that your files are up-to-date at all times.
😬 It also provides you with the ability to automatically delete old backups, which can help you save space in the destination backup path.

Let’s take a look at how to password protect a folder in Windows 11 using this software.

1. Download AOMEI Backupper and open this software. Select Backup in the left panel, and then select a backup type in the right panel. Here is an example of File Backup.

2. Select the folder you want to password protect in Windows 11 and then choose a path to store it.

3. Click Options at the bottom and toggle on the Enable encryption for backups option in General tab. Then type the password and confirm the password to perform file/folder lock in Windows 11.

4. After confirmation, click Start Backup to execute the task.

🌟Tips: 
📍 Schedule Backup: Set up auto backup on basis of Daily/Weekly/Monthly/Event triggers/USB plug in.
📍 Backup Scheme: Create a backup scheme to automatically delete old backups and always keep the latest one(s). You can also choose to perform incremental or differential backups to save only changed files.

★ How to backup files to AOMEI Cloud

There is a growing trend to backup files to cloud storage. You can backup files to AOMEI Cloud if you create an AOMEI account. It offers you 1TB free storage for 15 days after you sign up for an AOMEI account.

Final Words

After reading this article, you will have two ways to password protect a folder in Windows 11. In contrast, AOMEI Backupper is much simpler to operate. It is specially designed for data security. In addition to encrypting and backing up your data, this professional software comes with features such as disk cloning, synchronization and recovery.

If you want to perform data backups with all these powerful features on multiple computers, you can use the Create Portable Version tool (supported by Technician or Technician Plus editions) to make a portable backup software on a removable device.