My Lockbox™ is security software enabling you to password protect any folder on your computer.
The protected folder (lockbox) is hidden from any user and application of your system, including Administrator and System itself. It is impossible to access the lockbox, not only from the local computer, but also from the net.
The program is extremely easy to use. You can set the lockbox location and the password during the setup procedure. After the setup is done, lockbox will be hidden and locked until you enter the valid password.
Folder Lock is a Windows program to encrypt or password protect files, folders, removable drives, partitions, USB sticks, etc. In encryption mode it uses the strong 256-bit AES encryption algorithm to encrypt objects on the fly. In lock mode files, folders and drives are not encrypted, but protected with a password.
Folder Lock is shareware ($39.95), try before you buy.
TrueCrypt and FreeOTFE are powerful (and free) alternatives, but it might be an overkill for what you have in mind. They don't encrypt separate folders, but rather an entire filesystem (either a file-based "volume" or a whole disk).
Yes, you can.
Right-click that folder, click Properties, go to the Security tab, and add an entry for the users that you want to block access for that denies read access.
Best Answer
There is no built-in feature for "password protection" in the usual sense. (Any suggestions to create a password-protected "compressed folder" should be ignored due to the incredibly weak "security" of ZIP 2.0 encryption.)
However, recent Windows versions (XP Pro, Vista Business/Enterprise/Ultimate, 7 Pro/Enterprise/Ultimate) support Encrypted File System (more commonly EFS). Right-click a file or folder, open Properties → Advanced, and enable Encrypt contents.
In EFS, files are encrypted using a certificate associated with your Windows user account, and your Windows password is used to protect the certificate. If another user is logged in, or if you lose your certificate, the file cannot be accessed. (Win 7 prompts you to make a backup of the certificate; in other versions, you can export it through
certmgr.msc.) It's also possible to add several users' certificates to the same file.