There is quite old project – last release in 2002 (wow 7 years ago) – available on Source Forge named Hide In Picture that is still available for download in our days.
The application is pretty simple and allows you to hide (password protected) files in BMP files. As similar commercial it performs these tasks well for small sized files. If you want to hide larger files – think about a different solution!
Another disadvantage is that you need to have to software installed on all the computers where you want to hide – unhide files.
A big advance is the project age itself. It is an old tool and no one might think that is still in use (come on – is a 7 years old release) and the fact that is free and open source.
Soon we will build a comparison for hiding files products and disregarding its age Hide In Picture is still a strong competitor.
Free encryption utility EncryptOnClick is a simple utility that ensures the files you want to keep safe and out of view from others, stay that way.
What EncryptOnClick can do
A very secure encryption and decryption method is used (256-bit AES encryption).
Files are both compressed & encrypted, which results in a smaller file.
Password protected.
Will encrypt single files or all files in a folder.
Very simple to use interface.
Can be used on a USB key.
Fully Unicode enabled so filenames in any language can be encrypted.
Fits on a floppy disk.
EncryptOnClick will encrypt, decrypt, compress, and uncompress files which can also be opened and decrypted using third party programs like WinZip 9 (provided the correct password is used).
Fully compatible with all of the encryption methods used by SyncbackSE.
AppCompactor allows you to easily compress applications to decrease size on disk and increase performance when running from slow media like flash drives. Also it is useful to make applications run faster when launched from USB drive.
Warning from the publisher: Always back up your files before using this tool as it will not work with all applications.
Not long ago I have explained how to hide files inside a JPG image. If you did not find that post explanatory enough, here is a video that shows you how to do it:
All you have to do to hide a folder or file in your My Pictures folder, is locate the file or folder right click the folder or file then select Properties. Locate the General tab which should be open and go down to the attributes and click the box that says Hidden. Then hit Ok, the file will be invisible in the current window that is open at this time.
To reverse this you will have to select My Computer on the desktop, then select Tools and locate the Folder Options section, then select the View tab and look under the Hidden Files section and select the Show Hidden Files and Folders.
There are programs you can download such as Microsoft Private Folder 1.0, but these are not used to protect your computer from hackers, they are just for protecting specific files with a password from other people that use your computer such as family and friends. In order to use this program you will need to download it first of course. Along with other hardware and software, which makes this an un-attractive approach to protect your files, I would suggest just hiding them.
If you are looking to encrypt your files then I would suggest going to FileVault (if you have a Macintosh computer and running MacOS). It encrypts the user’s home directory and all the files in it. Your home directory is available upon signing in with the service and you can easily resave and encrypt your files. FileVault can be used by a Mac user so that is one feature this site has. Once you encrypt your files using FileVault you will be creating a USB key and password in which to login and access the information of your directory. It not only encrypts user’s files but it also does for the whole OS. The downside to the program is that without the key or password you won’t be able to boot up your computer. This isn’t a problem for most people but for some you will want to make sure you write your password down on paper somewhere.
If you are running a PC computer and you would like to know how to encrypt files you can use a program called BitLocker which is alike its counterpart FileVault but directed towards Windows Vista and Windows 2008 OS. BitLocker runs basically the same way as FileVault but I think it has a lot more features. It also gives you a feeling of total lockdown power when using Bitlocker compared to using FileVault.
If you have an Apple Mac then you know that sometimes it will need to go in for repair and that it will have to be shipped away to the Apple Care Staff. Now if you have files on your computer that you don’t want the care staff too see then you can do one of a few options in order to help protect the files from being viewed. Here is my list of ways to hide your files on a Mac.
1. One option is trying FileVault which if you set-up an administrator account then Apple Care shouldn’t be able to view anything.
2. Create an encrypted disk image then copy the files into it and set it up with a password.
3. Clone the drive to the external.
Those are three ways you can stop Apple Care Staff from accessing your files. I also would highly suggest tat you back-up any and all files that are important to you if you want to be able to sleep at night while your Mac is in the shop. I have read elsewhere that people have had problems with getting back drives reformatted and different account log-ins etc. To avoid this happening to you and countless of hours of work gone due to not backing up your site take the time and do so. It only takes about 20 minutes to back-up your drives and it will save you a ton of time compared to if something went wrong at Apple and you lost all your files.
Hiding a file on your computer is as easy as almost any task you will have to do. It can be done in two simple steps and doesn’t take much knowledge at all to be able to do so. By hiding files with the technique I’m about to share with you it will make it so only you can ever view the file. It can be necessary sometimes too keep things confidential and this is where hiding your files will come in handy.
1. Open a Notepad and write down @echo off
cls
attrib +r +h +s drive:\WRITE THE LOCATION OF FILE.file extension
exit
Suppose your file location is drive C: , and your file name is a.txt, then type this: @echo off cls
attrib +r +h +s C:\a.txt
exit
Hiding files in a JPG image file can be both fun and useful to know. In order to do this awesome little trick you will need a Windows computer, WinRAR, files to hide and a JPG to hide the files in. First, gather all the files and the JPG you want to store them in a new folder. Make sure you can access the path of the folder using DOS. Secondly, use WinRAR to create an archive of all the files you want to put in the JPG and make sure the archive is an accessible path using DOS.
Now it is time to open up the command prompt. Click Start and then Run and then type “cmd”. This should open up a command dialog box. Using this command dialog box navigate to the folder you have just created. Step 6, Type ‘copy /b “your JPG name” + “your RAR name” “a new JPG name”‘, substituting “your JPG name” and “your RAR name” with the actual file names and “a new JPG name” with a valid filename. “A new JPG name” will be the end result.
If you are running a PC computer and you would like to know how to encrypt files you can use a program called 
