How to encrypt data on Windows

Windows XP Professional allows us to restrict access to a file or folder to secure by an encryption method in native mode. We see here how to fully utilize this functionality.

Following are the steps for encrypting a file or folder.

1. Click on Start - - >All Programs - - > Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.
   
2. Now Right-click on the folder that you want to encrypt and click on Properties.
3. On the General tab, click on Advanced.
   
4. Under Compress or Encrypt attributes, select the Encrypt contents to secure data check box, and then click OK.
   
5. Again click on OK.
   
6. Now in the Confirm Attribute Changes dialog box that appears, use one of the following steps:
   
   
   • If you want to encrypt only the folder, click on Apply changes to this folder only, and then click OK.
     
   • f you want to encrypt the existing folder contents along with the folder, click Apply changes to this folder, sub folders and files, and then click OK.

There is one more way of doing it by using Command line.

Following are the steps for encryption.

1. Click on Start.
2. Goto Run and type the following command.
   
   
   • cipher / e / s "File/Folder path"
   
   
   Where / e allows to encrypt the folder and the files will be copied later and / s option when it allows the operation to apply to all sub directories.

Following are the steps for decryption.

1. Click on Start.
2. Goto Run and type the following command
   
   
   • cipher / d / s "File/Folder path"
   
   
   Where / d used to decrypt the folder and the files will be copied later.