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Who wants to protect her/his own private files ? These files may be diaries, stories or even files contain passwords or credit card information. The security software usually doesn’t help us to protect these, we have to do it by ourselves. This is a list of ways and applications which can be used to protect our secret files.

7-Zip

Using 7-Zip or other compressors may be the simplest way to password protect files. Although this way is quite simple, it is pretty easy and efficient to password protect a file or folder. Just compress what you want with a password, then delete the source files so that when you want to open that file, you must enter a right password in order to use. You may use the password compressed file to send your friends without any worries that someone can open it. Of course, the recipient must have the right password to open it. If you are afraid that there is no compressor already installed on the recipient’s computer, instead of compressing to the usual format, you should use the self-extract type which can be run on any computers.

Androsa FileProtector

Androsa FileProtector is a free and exclusive for password protecting files. The usage is quite easy and straightforward. You just simply add files or folder using its file manager, then set a password and the algorithm to protect them. The algorithm may be DES 64 bits to Rijdael (AES) 256 bits (the longer, the better). Androsa FileProtector will then encrypt and change the extension of selected files to .afp. Once you open these files, you must enter a right password in order to open them. This feature is only available on computers which have already installed Androsa FileProtector. So when you send the afp files to others and are not sure whether the software has been installed on their computers, you may use the Self-Decrypting archive instead of the .afp.

Empathy

Empathy is an ideal utility to password protect executable files from being run by others. Once you set a password to protect, the executable file would ask for a right password to be able to run. Empathy is free, portable, simple and straightforward utility. However, there’s a weird thing that you just can set password with a letter in unregistered version. To remove this limitation, you must send the author a postcard includes your email, and then he’ll send you the registration code.

My Lockbox

My Lockbox is a free and small utility to password protect your folders in Windows. This is handy and useful when you just want to hide files and folders from others. The protected folder will be hidden from any user and application of your system, including Administrator and System itself. However, the protected folder will be easily caught by folks who boot your computer from a Live Linux CD.

PixelCryptor

Not like others, PixelCryptor uses an image as the key to encrypt and decrypt secret package. PixelCryptor lets you choose a picture and use it combine your files into a package. All we know that images are always easier to remember than a bunch of letters of a password. The usage is quite easy although there are more steps than others. In the main window, simply add files or folders you want to password protect, next add an image as the key for encryption. You do the same to decrypt the package, just enter the path of your image instead of a password and click Next to decrypt.

These eight free downloads and services will help you beat back the bad guys with antivirus and anti-spyware programs, personal firewalls and even a program that can detect whether your Web site is under attack.


BEST: Avast Home Edition: The big names in security software charge you big bucks for big suites full of big, bloated software. Avast Home Edition scans your system for malware and kills what it finds, and gives you seven different types of "shields" to keep you safe from harm, such as one for protecting you from dangers that might be lurking on Web sites (such as drive-by downloads), one for guarding against peer-to-peer attacks, another that stops instant messaging threats, and so on. And it does all that, amazingly enough, without taking up much RAM or system resources.

a-Squared HiJackFree: Spyware is notorious for evading even the most rigorous cleaners, which is why you need more than one anti-spyware utility on your PC. HiJackFree is a great download to use in concert with your main anti-spyware program for extra protection. Rather than offering a live shield, it checks your system for spyware and then eradicates it. For the geeky, it offers a lot more as well, such as tools for viewing what programs are using your TCP ports, and for examining programs that run on startup.

Attack Trace: Worried that the bad guys are targeting your Web site? This free service checks to see if your site is under attack.

Comodo EasyVPN Home: This download allows you to create secure peer-to-peer networks over the Internet for sharing information, chatting and so on. Everything is encrypted, so no one else will be able to snoop on what you're doing.

EULAlyzer: Hidden in some end-user license agreements (EULAs) are indicators that the software may be spyware, or that it might invade your privacy in other ways. This downloadable analyzer examines EULAs and warns you about dangers.

Online Armor Personal Firewall: This is the best personal firewall you've never heard of. It provides solid protection, but unobtrusively. Lots of firewalls bug you constantly when you first install them, asking about any program that wants to access the Internet. This software starts out by allowing known safe applications to access the Web and bothers you only about the programs it's unsure about. It also has a clever "Safer mode" that will allow certain apps to run with stripped-down privileges.

SpywareBlaster: With this downloadable anti-spyware utility, you can make sure you don't get infected in the first place rather than scanning for and killing spyware after it hits your machine. It works differently from most competitors by restricting the actions that potentially dangerous Web sites can perform when you visit them. It also protects against dangerous ActiveX controls, and keeps tracking cookies off your PC.

SuperAntiSpyware: Here's an excellent anti-spyware tool that does a thorough job of scanning your system for dangers, and then whacking any it finds. This download scans not just your files and memory, but also your registry. It doesn't offer real-time protection, though.