If you have concerns over privacy of your personal data on a shared computer you might first consider simply marking the folder has hidden – where your files are stored, however this isn’t a particularly useful scenario as it’s easy to get around. In larger installations you might be able to set user permissions, but again your files are still accessible by Administrators.

If you really want to hide your files you might consider an application called Hide Folders 2009, available as a “free to try” download (30 days) and the license agreement is one of the shortest I have ever seen – straight to the point – which is a plus. This 1.47 MB download is currently up to version 3.3 and is quite straight forward to use.

Once launched, select the Add icon to add a folder to the system, then choose a protection method of either Unprotect, Hide, Lock, Hide and Lock, or Read Only. There are some caveats to the protection options regarding certain folders, for example you can’t hide and lock the application folder itself, or the windows or system folders. Also, simply hiding a folder does not prevent it being accessed if a user knows the name and location of the folder.

You set a password for your folders on the Tools menu where you can also configure a large number of settings such as running the application at start-up, hiding the tray icon (a good idea on a shared computer), wiping all tracks of activity and various ways to integrate the application into Windows Explorer.

Hide Folders 2009 is supported on Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, and the latest Windows 7. To learn more visit the Hide Folder 2009 homepage.