2 Ways to Hide “Important” Files and Folders in Windows
Everyone has certain files that s/he would rather keep private, especially guys. One of the ways to do that is to make such files hidden and bury them deep in the system files. The problem with such approach is that it’s not really conveninet if you need to access those files on a regular basis. So if you’re interested in something more conveninet, here are two simple ways to keep “important” files invisible and only a click a way.
1. Make the Folder Invisible (not hidden)
This works both on Windows XP and Vista, not sure about other Win versions. What this will do is make selected folder invisble, not hidden. The folder will be only visible when you try to highlight it (see below). If you want to make sure that no one discovers it by chance then also move it to the corner of the screen.
How to Create Invisible Folder ?
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1. Create a new folder.
2. Rename: Highlight the folder and Click ‘F2′ button. Hold the ‘Alt’ key and type in 0160 (you won’t see those 0160 numbers while typing them). Press Enter. Note, you have to use the numpad to enter these numbers.
3. Change icon: Righ click the folder >> Properties >> Customize >> Change the icon >> Select the blank one >> Ok.
4. Done.
2. Hide Folders/Files in Images
This trick has been around for a while and there are plenty of tutorials out there. One of the better ones is the one created by Jimmy Ruska, check it out below.
In case you can’t stream the video see step-by-step instructions below.
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1. First compress the file using your favorite compression program.
2. Move the archive (some-archive.zip) and the image you want to use to for hiding the files (some-image.jpg) to the folder of your choice.
3. Open Windows command prompt: ‘ Start >> Run >> cmd ‘
4. Navigate to the folder from step 2. If you are not familiar with the command line commands, then use ‘cd ..’ to go one level upwards and ‘cd folder_name‘ to go one level down. This should be enough to get you to the right folder.
5. Once there, enter the following command:
COPY /B some-image.jpg + some-archive.zip new-image.jpg
Where the new-image.jpg is the name of the final image that will hold your files.
6. Confirm that everything went smoothly by opening newly created image file using your favorite archive program.
7. Done.
Do you know of any other ways to hide files? Let us know in comments.
I realy like the invisible folder trick. Nice one
This hiding a file or folder reminds me of the option I had earlier tried…Its a bit different way of hiding it….you can check it here at Lock and Hide
Hi I have a problem with the first one : 1. Make the Folder Invisible (not hidden)
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I can’t type anything when holding down the alt key, so all I can do is rename the folder to 0106 and I don’t think that’s the way to do it (since it’s not working
I should have mentioned it earler, you won’t actually see those 0160 numbers while typing them. Just makes sure to hold the Alt key and type in 0160. Press enter and you should have your folder.
num lock ON?
It appears that I am having the same issue as you. Did you fix your issue, and if so can you please explain it to me. I am on a laptop with Windows Vista.
I just encrypt the files using Truecrypt and I tuck the encrypted folder away in an obscure “Program Files” folder. If anyone sees it, they assume it’s part of a software installation and they leave it alone. But the folder is actually encrypted with all my sensitive files inside.
That sounds fine as well.
Can my “favorite archive program” be Windows’ built in support? I tried renaming the secretcow.jpg file to secretcow.zip and extracting it, but Windows complained. Is it possible to do without 7zip or other program like that?
You need some kind of archive manage for that. It can be winrar, winzip, 7zip … whatever.
If you want to check whether the final image includes the files then you need to launch archive manager and drag’n drop the image file on top of it.
Truecrypt works best because it encrypts the data, mounts as a virtual hard drive, is platform-independent, and can use any file extension you’d like. Simply drop your files into a Truecrypt container and give it an extension of .mp3, .avi, or something else. (Just don’t use .bak or .tmp or anything that might get auto-deleted).
I set them as system files + hidden files.
attrib +s +H (path to file or folder)
to show them again,
attrib -s -h (path to file or folder)
be advised that you must have “Hide system files” or something like that in Folder Properties checked.
Everything is working well for me.
But I have a problem with the first method
… I’m unable to unhide the folder.
In fact, I can’t rename it normally.
I tried to delete it but nothing happens
What about it for you ?
Edit :
My problem is on Vista.
I tried on my server (2003 server) and it’s working.
Shit, I have the same problem as well.
(Comments wont nest below this level)Had same problem, solution I came up with was adding it to an archive with winrar and telling winrar to delete the files after archiving. Probably some issue with windows not being able to delete the file due to the lack of name.
I have the same problem. can you please tell me exactly how you did the winrar thing…
(Comments wont nest below this level)?
thanks in advace:D
wooow soo cool and helpful.. thanks!
Way to perfectly utilize a strike-through in the title! haha
Funny title. Useful blog. Noice!
For Mac users, there is this cool little widget that does the exact same trick.
It’s called Abacadabra, from
seems I missed the link: http://www.interdimensionmedia.com/widgets/index.html
Okay, these tricks work great.. But, isn’t a simpler way possible ?
1) Compress the folder or files into a zip file..
2) Then, rename something.zip to something.jpg or something else.
Isn’t this simpler ? Or how does this differ from the above mentioned ways
In your case if someone clicks on that something.jpg the file won’t open. In our case the person sees an actual image.
I played around with stegan programs in the past, but that copy /b cmd thing is easier. But 7z won’t give the option to extract it when I right click on the new image, however it does work if I open 7z, then open the new image from within 7z.
As far as the hidden folder trick, it shows up first in win explorer’s list (when I sort by name);it leaves a noticeable gap. So if I needed to use this trick, I’d have to bury it deep down in a seldom accessed sub-folder.
But they’re both handy to know, thanks.
I did the invisible folder but I cant delete it now. How do i delete it?
Try using InviziVault (you can find it anywhere with google). Very easy to use, and it’s not obviously running like other encryption software. You even need a secret keystroke to launch it.
Super easy.. Super hidden. best $20 I ever spent.
hey bro how can i recover data from invisible and hidden folder and data both…..
search bhi nahi ho paa raha hey…..
any trick or tools for recover for that type of data
pls help me serious trouble problem……..helppppppp
i did this but now i cant seem to rename the file or even delete it… whats wrong?
does anyone knows how to delete the file?
I managed to make the folder invisible but now I can delete it.
Use InviziVault its awesome
also to make it very hidden if your an admin of windows vista
make a folder here C:\Windows\Winsafe Installer\Regtapi_32\
put some other folders in \Winsafe installer\ like:
data,Drivers,Index,Main Installer,com32,fron_32,marvin_32,resdata,setup,and ShellNew your welcome!!!
Like some others, i was able to preform the trick but i’m unable to undo what i have done. Can someone resolve this issue ?
There is one more technique which will not hide the folders, but it will convert them into control panel. any one who tries to access the folder is redirected to control panel.
1. Create a folder in a drive for easy access, e.g. C:. (Name it something related to the Control Panel, e.g. Users.)
2. Create a new file in Notepad and copy and paste the following into it:
ren Users Users.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
3. Replace “Users” with the name of the folder you created and save the file as loc.bat.
(You should now be able to see your folder and the loc.bat file, with the loc.bat in the same directory as the folder Not in it.)
4. Now, right-click and create another text file. Copy and Paste the following into it:
ren Users.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} Users
(Make sure to replace the word “Users” with the name of your folder.)
5. Save it as key.bat.
6. Now you should see the loc.bat and the key.bat files in the same directory as the folder you created.
7. Now, all you need to do is double-click on the loc.bat file and the folder should have an icon that looks like the control panel. If you click on the folder it should redirect you to the Control Panel and thus you have locked the folder.
8. Of course, to unlock it, simply double-click on the key.bat file and the folder should turn back into the folder you first created.
Neaaat!
Haha, just thought I’d be the one to mention it, but if anyone looks at the URL for this page, it happens to be slightly different than the title of the article. Nice Touch! LOL
-Woody