nukenorman Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I am trying to encrypt folder in windows 8.1 that came with my Acer Aspire s3 ultrabook. I want to encrypt it to make it password protected. However the option is grayed out and will not let me check the box. Anyone know why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Veteran Posted June 19, 2014 Veteran Share Posted June 19, 2014 Is it Pro or Core? I believe the feature is only available on pro and enterprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukenorman Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 It is the windows 8.1 that came pre installed on my laptop. I right click my computer it says windows 8.1 does not say anything else. Core i7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Veteran Posted June 19, 2014 Veteran Share Posted June 19, 2014 Hold down the Windows key and hit Pause/Break. It will pop up the System control panel. If you have Pro it will say "Windows 8.1 Pro" under Windows edition. If it doesn't then BitLocker isn't available. You'll have to either upgrade to Pro or use a 3rd-party encryption tool. Normally I'd say TrueCrypt but I'm not sure what's recommended now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukenorman Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Just says windows 8.1. no pro or nothing else after it. I would post a screenshot on here but looks like neowin has no option to post images from uploads anymore as I do not see the option. So I guess I do not have pro edition if it does not say it. Just says windows 8.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Veteran Posted June 19, 2014 Veteran Share Posted June 19, 2014 Just says windows 8.1. no pro or nothing else after it. I would post a screenshot on here but looks like neowin has no option to post images from uploads anymore as I do not see the option. So I guess I do not have pro edition if it does not say it. Just says windows 8.1 I don't think it says anything if it's the "core" edition. Perhaps someone else can recommend an alternative, or you can check this thread where other members have been discussing alternatives to TrueCrypt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukenorman Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Ok thank you very much. Since it came with my ultrabook im sure its not the pro edition then. I did not think windows 8 came with different edition I thought they stopped that after windows 7 guess I was wrong. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Veteran Posted June 19, 2014 Veteran Share Posted June 19, 2014 Sorry I couldn't give you a better answer. :(They dropped Home and Home Premium. Only Core, Professional and Enterprise are left and you can only get Enterprise as part of a licensing agreement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_dandy_ Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I am trying to encrypt folder in windows 8.1 [...]. I want to encrypt it to make it password protected. Nobody's mentioned this. You don't "password-protect" folders in Windows, you control access to them via access control lists (ACLs)--that's the Security tab you can access when you right-click a folder and select Properties. That being said, you still probably want to create something like a TrueCrypt file container, or mount a BitLocker-encrypted VHD. If BitLocker isn't an option for you, then TrueCrypt is probably your best choice, until someone comes up with a (proven) better alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Veteran Posted June 19, 2014 Veteran Share Posted June 19, 2014 Nobody's mentioned this. You don't "password-protect" folders in Windows, you control access to them via access control lists (ACLs)--that's the Security tab you can access when you right-click a folder and select Properties. That being said, you still probably want to create something like a TrueCrypt file container, or mount a BitLocker-encrypted VHD. If BitLocker isn't an option for you, then TrueCrypt is probably your best choice, until someone comes up with a (proven) better alternative. Bitlocker/EFS does give you the option to encrypt a folder. It can only be opened by the user account that encrypted it, so it is essentially password protected. (It's also a pain if you don't have a TPM on your motherboard.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_dandy_ Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Bitlocker/EFS does give you the option to encrypt a folder. It can only be opened by the user account that encrypted it, so it is essentially password protected. (It's also a pain if you don't have a TPM on your motherboard.) Does it? I've spent very little time with BitLocker, so I not all that well-versed on what it can or cannot do. If a folder can only be read back by the user account that created it, then obviously that account's security token has to be associated with it...making it impractical for "sharing" a folder that's still password-protected. Not sure what the original poster wants to do with it, so it sounds like BitLocker may still be a non-starter. I do know that I've managed to create a BitLocker-encrypted VHD, copy it over to another machine, and then mount it just by supplying the password, so there's *some* portability. But, I haven't had any reason yet to go into a panic about TrueCrypt and move onto something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukenorman Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 I will check out these 2 programs you mentioned. Will this still encrypt ( passsword protect ) if someone plugs the external HD to another computer? such as linux machine or another windows machine. I will also look into that option in the security tab you said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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