How to encrypt a file in windows 7 home premium

We are living in the techno world where people are advancing day by day. This is both advantageous and disadvantageous as well. There are people out there who are taking wrong advantages of the technology. Therefore it is extremely important to take essential steps to protect data from the scammers. There are many techniques which people are using to protect their data.

But the most popular is the encryption of the folders and files which keeps the important data secure and locks the password. Here are the steps explained how to encrypt a folder of file. This is the method by which you can protect your personal data from the unwanted access.

EFS are a feature that allows users to store their information on the hard disk in the encrypted format. This is one of the strongest ways to protect your data that windows provide to keep your data fully protected from the hackers and scammers. If you are encrypting your folders and files for the first time then it is important that you should create backup of your encryption certificate.

If your keys and certificate are damaged or lost then you will not be able to use your encrypted files again. So make sure that you create a backup. Here is the way how to encrypt your files and folders. It is very easy and simple.

Encrypting is very important it is like a safe where you can keep your valuable documents safe from the thieves known as hackers and scammers. The key file is like the key of the safe and password is like a combination. There are many advantages of encrypting such as once you encrypt your files it is totally impossible for anyone to have your correct password and key.

But it is important that you keep your key and password safe. This is a secure encryption standard, meaning that hard drives protected with BitLocker are safe against hackers for the foreseeable future. Once set up, BitLocker lets you unlock your hard drive either by using a USB dongle or by entering a password. You can opt for either method, but if you prefer a physical key, you will need to get a USB thumb drive before setting BitLocker up.

This is a special microchip that enables your device to support advanced security features. To check if you have one simply:. If you use a USB dongle, you will still need to enter a password. Enter it and click Next. You will be given options to save a recovery key.

This key lets you regain access to your encrypted hard drive if you forget your password. Options include:. Choose between New encryption mode better for internal, fixed hard drives or Compatible mode best for removable devices , and click Next.

Check the run BitLocker system check box and click Continue. When the computer launches, BitLocker will ask you to either enter your USB flash drive and enter a password, or enter the password you set up to unlock your hard drive. How does AES encryption work? This is because they are only available on Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise or Education.

In fact, using open source third party tools with strong encryption is an effective way of ensuring you secure your personal data. If you need to encrypt files and folders on your machine, we recommend using one of the following apps:. The programs we have listed above all function slightly differently. However, they all have walkthroughs and guides on their websites to help you encrypt your data.

Thus, you will need to do a little research into each program to use that specific encryption system to secure your data. On the whole, however, once installed you should be able to locate the files and folders that you want to secure in Windows file manager, and then right click on those files to select the program you wish to encrypt the files with. Encrypted files and folders are much more secure because a password is needed to access their contents.

If you store your cryptographic key or encryption password in an unencrypted file on your computer, a hacker could potentially steal it.

If a hacker installs a keylogger on your device, they could steal your password when you enter it to decrypt a file. When you use EFS to encrypt a file, your computer may still store an unencrypted version of that file in its temporary memory.

The solution is to delete your temporary files to ensure that the unencrypted version is not still lying around. Depending on where you live, legislation may exist that forces you to hand over your encryption key to the government. If you are served a warrant, it may compel you to hand over access to your encrypted documents in order to comply with an investigation.

If you have an external hard drive then you should know that there is a way to encrypt the files on this device. Check out our how to encrypt an external hard drive page information about how to do this. The software we have recommended in this article lets you encrypt the data on your local hard drive.

However, you may also want to encrypt your internet traffic to gain digital privacy online. This allows your ISP to keep records of all the websites you visit. It also allows your ISP to gather your metadata. Local network administrators can also analyze and track your internet traffic when you use public WiFi hotspots, and both ISPs and WiFi providers may collect data about you and share it with the government.

Looking for something? Written by Ray Walsh. What should I encrypt? Encrypting in Windows using built in Encrypting File System The easiest and fastest way to encrypt files securely on your hard drive is to use Windows native encryption tool. Plug your USB thumb drive into your Windows computer.

Click the EFS icon in the system tray. Click Back up now recommended. On the Certificate Export Wizard click Next. Leave the default settings on the Export File Format screen and click Next.

Click Next. On the next screen click Browse and select your USB thumb drive. Click Save. Click Finish. Click OK. Remember Once the backup key has been exported, keep the USB drive safe. This is a free open source encryption tool that uses a strong AES cipher and robust SHA for the handshake algorithm. Veracrypt will let you encrypt single files inside an encrypted container secured with a passphrase.

It will also let you encrypt partitions, and on Windows it supports full disk encryption.