If you are sharing your computer with other people, for example your friends in the dormitory or the other members of your family, then chances are that you have absolutely no privacy when it comes to storing secret documents. If you had your own computer, then all the files were accessed only by you. But on a shared computer, anyone can see which sites you visited, which documents you opened or edited and so on. If you want to give yourself some privacy and hide your private files from the eyes of others, then you can use the free Secure Folders software in Windows.
As you launch the Secret Folders program, it presents you with options to add files or folders to the list. You can add as many folders/files as you want and choose whether you want to make them hidden (nobody can see them in File Explorer), locked (they need password to open), No-Execution (programs refuse to run), and Read-Only (they cannot be edited). You can also toggle protection on or off using a simple switch at the bottom of the window.
All those files you choose to hide will become inaccessible to all other programs in Windows. So if you later have to access, edit or modify any of these files, then you will have to turn off the Secure Folders protection and then you will be able to access them. After working with the files, you can enable the protection once again. If there are programs that need access all the time, even when protection is enabled, then you can add these programs under the Trusted Applications section.
Secure Folders can also be used to hide your online activity from others. You can use a portable browser (e.g., portable Firefox) and keep the portable folder containing the browser hidden using the Secure Folders. This will nobody will ever know about your online activities that you made using the portable browser.
Conclusion: Secure Folders provides very easy privacy protection for all Windows users who have to share their computers with other people. It can hide your folders, files and lock down programs from being executed.
You can download Secure Folders from http://securefoldersfree.com/.