9FoxFur<^^

There is one simple way to protect your folders in computers using Windows XP Professional. Usually one uses a software to protect his files or folders from being accessed by another, however this method does not require you to use any softwares to do so. Thus it can save your money and also protect your privacy.

This tutorial is intended for lone computers which are not connected to any local area network which are used by many people. This can only be done by users with administrative privilege, of course. The very first step to be done is to create a password for the administrator account. This step can be performed by clicking the 'Start' button, and then go to 'Control Panel'. In the Control Panel, select 'User Accounts'. In the User Accounts, select the administrator account or whatever account with administrative privilege that you use, and then select 'Create a password'.

After creating a password for the administrator account, make a new account for use by other people aside from you, the owner. Go to User Accounts again, and select 'Create a new account'. Type the name for the account, in this example, I will use 'Others'. Click on next and select the 'Limited' account type instead of administrator. Then click on 'Create account'. A new account for use by other people will then be ready.

The next step is to change the security setting for the folders. Firstly, open 'My Computer'. Then on the menu bar, select 'Tools', and then 'Folder Options'. In the Folder Options window, select 'View' tab and scroll down to the bottom until you see an item 'Use simple file sharing (Recommended)'. By default, this item is ticked. Untick the item and click OK.

And now it is time to make your folder private. Browse to where the folder you want to protect is. Then right click on the folder and select 'Properties'. In the Properties window, select 'Security' tab and you will see the list of users of the computer. Click on 'Advance'. If you do not see the limited account you have created before, click on 'Add'. The 'Select User or Group' window will appear. The click on 'Advance'. A new 'Select User or Group' window will appear. Click on 'Find Now', and search for the name of the limited account. It is placed in the 'Name (RDN)' column, and the right column is the computer name. Then click on OK, and the limited account will appear such as this 'COMPUTERNAME\Others'. Click OK and the window 'Permission Entry for 'folder_name'' will appear.

In the Permission Entry for 'folder_name' window, you will be able to change the security settings of the folder for the limited account. Go to the 'Deny' column, and tick the 'List Folder/Read Data' and 'Delete' items. Then tick the bottom item 'Apply these permissions to objects and/or containers within this container only'. Then click OK. In the 'Advance Security Settings for 'folder_name'' window, click on OK and a security alert will appear. Just click Yes. Then click OK for the Properties window. The folder will now be private and cannot be accessed by the limited account users. This method can only be performed using the administrative account, and cannot be done using the limited account.