Copyright: SecretFolders 1.0, Copyright © 1999 - 2000 SISH
Citation: SecretFolders 1.0, Copyright © 1999 - 2000 SISH


SecretFolders Version 1.0 Copyright © 1999 - 2000 SIHS

File/Folder protection utility for Windows 95/98

Introduction

SecretFolders is a simple and easy to use utility that allows you to password protect your private and important folders and it entire contents (files and subfolders) from malicious and accidental damage. Now you do not need to worry about how safe your data is from prying eyes. Let SecretFolders take care of it for you. Whether at home, work or any other environment where you share your computer with others, SecretFolders can help you to protect your important files from getting infected by deadly viruses, and prevents unauthorised access to your precious files. It is a must have tool.

With SecretFolders you can protect your files/folders from being renamed, modified, deleted, copied or moved. All file/folder creation operations will also be denied and files will be protected from being opened for reading and writing in the protected folder and its subfolders.

SecretFolders allows you to deny all access or only allow read-only access to items at the lowest system level. It even allows you to specify which programs are still able to access the protected items such as virus scanners or disk drive utilities.

SecretFolders does not encrypt your files/folders or changes it in anyway and neither does it hide your files/folders as doing so could cause them to be deleted by system programs which may not be able to see these folders.

To get started please read the following topics:

Password Screen

Setup Screen


Install and Uninstall

Install

To install SecretFolders on your machine simply run the ScrtFldr.exe self-extracting archive (assuming that you're reading this without extracting first). Then choose the destination folder where you would like to extract all the files to. Once you have extracted all the files browse through the destination folder and run ScrtFldr.exe which is the main executable file. The first time you run SecretFolders your password to gain access to Setup will be blank. To activate the Password screen press the SecretFolders hotkey SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+S or choose "Setup" from the SecretFolders tray icon menu. You can set-up your own password in the SecretFolders Setup screen.

Please do make sure that you read and understand the documentation that come with this software.

Note: While SecretFolders is installed and running on your computer please ensure that other similar utilities are not running at the same time as this could cause problems. If you have installed our other security tools Safelock or FolderLock we recommend that you uninstall these before using SecretFolders otherwise this may cause problems they are running at the same time since both of our other programs also allow the options for locking files/folders and share the same file system driver.

Uninstall

The uninstallation process will delete all SecretFolders settings and any files in the SecretFolders executable folder. To uninstall SecretFolders choose "File" then "Uninstall" from SecretFolders Setup screens main menu. SecretFolders will confirm with you if you want to uninstall the program from your machine by displaying a message. Click "Yes" to carry on with the uninstallation. SecretFolders will then ask you if you would like to reboot the computer to complete the uninstallation (this step is necessary for the uninstallation to complete).

Do not just delete the folder that SecretFolders is in as this is not sufficient enough. So you must uninstall SecretFolders as described above for proper uninstall.


Trial vs. Registered

SecretFolders is Try Before You Buy software. It is NOT intended to be free or public domain software which means that you evaluate the program for a specified amount of time and register it if you think it will meet your needs or otherwise stop using it. In the case of SecretFolders the trail period is for 30 days (these days do not have to be continuous calendar dates from the date of installation).

The trial copy of SecretFolders is NOT crippled in any way and neither is any functionality disabled in the program. This allows you to properly try out the software so that you know this is what you want.

However in the unregistered version (trial copy):

•	License screen will always pop up whenever the program runs.

•	A prompt will appear in timed intervals that will allow users to disable the security provided by SecretFolders.

Once you register the program you will not get these anymore and you also qualify for full technical support.

Please read license and disclaimer regarding SecretFolders.


Register SecretFolders

The current price is $24.95 U.S for a single copy of SecretFolders. If you wish to register multiple copies of SecretFolders we do provide volume discounts and educational pricing for the software. You may contact (see CONTACT.TXT) us for further details.

You can register SecretFolders using the following methods:

1: ONLINE

2: PHONE

3: FAX

4: MAIL (Electronic or Postal)

The easiest and fastest way to register is to use the ONLINE registering method. Use the following url to register SecretFolders ONLINE or to find how to register the program via the other available methods.

Url: https://secure.element5.com/register.html?productid=131826&language=English

As soon as we receive your registration we will send your User ID and License Code to you via email A.S.A.P. Always keep your User ID and License Code in a safe place because you will need this when you need technical support regarding SecretFolders.


Contacting Us

Web

For new/updated products you can visit our web.

Web: http://sihs.bizland.com

Email

For questions/comments you can contact us via email.

Email: sihs@sihs.bizland.com


How to access Setup

To access Setup you need to enter the correct password. Please read the help on Password screen for more information.


How to lock Folders

Please read the help on Folder Protection for more information.


Password Screen

The password screen stops unauthorised people from gaining access to the SecretFolders Setup screen. After all you do not want anybody changing your settings.

To activate the password screen double click on the SecretFolders icon in the system tray with the left mouse button or click the right mouse button and choose the Setup menu option. You can also access this screen by pressing the SecretFolders hotkey combination SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+S.

Related Topics

Setup Screen


Setup Screen

This is the main screen of SecretFolders which allows you to specify which folders and their contents are to be locked. From here you will be able to configure other program related options.

Menu And Toolbar

File - Resume Security

Closes the Setup screen and starts protecting your folders. Also available on the toolbar.

File - Exit

This option will exit the program. Also available on the toolbar.

File - Uninstall

This will uninstall SecretFolders from your system.

Help - Contents

Executes the programs help file. Also available on the toolbar.

Help - About...

Shows information about the program. Also available on the toolbar.

Tabs

Program Options

Folder Protection

Related Topics

Password Screen


Program Options Tab

Allows you to configure program related options.

Password

This is the password that you will need to enter at the Password screen to access Setup. The password can be of any length and alphanumeric.

Folder protecting is ON

Check this to specify that while your not in Setup and SecretFolders is running then it should protect your folders if you have any to be protected.

Start protecting my folders as soon as Windows starts

This option specifies that SecretFolders should start protecting your folders as soon as Windows starts.

Show the program icon in the system tray

Check this option to show the SecretFolders program icon in the system tray. You can then double click or right click on the tray icon to access the Setup screen.

Related Topics

Folder Protection Tab


Folder Protection Tab

This is the tab you specify which folders are to be protected and programs that can have access to locked folders.

Choose the No Access or the Read Only tab if you would like to add/delete folders. Choose the Trusted Programs tab if you would like add/delete programs that are still allowed to access the protected items.

Use the Add and Delete buttons to add/delete folder paths or task/file names.

No Access Tab

Folders added to the No Access list will protect the folder and all its contents from being copied to/from, moved to/from, renamed, deleted or be modified. All file/folder creation operations within the folder and its subfolders will also be denied. Files will also be protected from being opened for reading and/or writing.

This option is useful if you have a folder with your personal or important files in it and you do not want programs or users accessing it.

Read Only Tab

Folders added to the Read Only list supports all the security available in the No Access option except that files can be opened for reading. For example you can add a folder with executable files in it so that the program can still be run but it cannot be renamed, moved, deleted, copied etc.

Trusted Program Tab

These are programs that allowed to access the protected folder and its contents.

For a program to be able to access the protected files/folders you can specify the taskname which is the first 8 characters or less (only if filename is less than 8 characters) characters from the base part (characters before the extension (.exe) ) of the filename or the executable filename of the program from which the taskname will be retrieved by the program.

Examples:

•	The taskname for Windows Calculator is "calc" and the filename is "calc.exe" so you can only specify "calc" or"calc.exe".

•	The taskname for Wordpad is "wordpad" and the filename is "wordpad.exe" so you can only specify "wordpad" or "wordpad.exe".

•	If a programs filename is "my program.exe" then "my program", "my progr" or "my program.exe" can be specified.

•	If 2 programs on the system in different folders had a executable name of "user.exe" then you can only specify "user" or "user.exe". Both programs will be able to access the protected items.

•	If one program had a filename "myprograma.exe" and another one had "myprogramb.exe" then the taskname would be "myprogra" which means that both of these programs will be able to access the protected items.

Related Topics

Program Options Tab


FAQ

How does SecretFolders work?

SecretFolders works by installing a low level file system driver (vxd) which monitors and intercepts calls from programs which try to access a particular folder and its contents. In other words it is the middle person between Windows and other programs. SecretFolders iterates through the available list of folders that need to be protected and sees if the folder is supposed to be protected. It will also look at which program is trying to access that folder and its contents and checks to see if it is allowed to.

During the protecting process SecretFolders does not attempt to modify your files/folders in anyway so even if something went wrong with SecretFolders or unfortunately Windows crashed, your files will remain unchanged.

You can specify which folders are to be protected in the Folder Protection tab.

Will SecretFolders encrypt my files?

Other than encrypting its own settings such as password etc. SecretFolders does NOT attempt to encrypt or otherwise modify your files in ANY WAY.

Can I hide folders with SecretFolders?

SecretFolders does not provide an option to hide folders. Hiding folders can be disastrous since some disk drive utilities may not see the hidden folder and do something nasty to it. A good example of these sort of programs would be CHKDSK, SCANDISK etc.


Hints

What not to lock

SecretFolders gives you the freedom to choose which folder you would like to lock on your computer. However some folders are very important for Windows to operate properly such as the Windows (usually c:\windows) folder and the System (usually c:\windows\system) folder. It is not recommended and a not a good idea to lock these folders. Also never lock the root folder of the drive on which Windows resides in as SecretFolders will lock all files and folders underneath the drive and this will surely cause a problem for Windows as it will not be able to access very important files such as the system registry.

Locking removable media

If you do not want people running programs from CD-ROM drives or A drive etc. you can just add the root drive to the No Access list which will prevent users from opening files from CD-ROMS and running programs from A drive etc.


Software License

NOTE: It is a must that you read and understand this license in full before using SecretFolders.

(1)

This Software License Agreement (the "Agreement") is a legal agreement between you, the end-user ("Licensee"), and Authors of this software ("Authors"). By using this software or storing this program ("SecretFolders") on a computer hard drive (or other type of media), you are agreeing to be bound by the terms of this Agreement.

(2)

SecretFolders IS DISTRIBUTED "AS IS". NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND IS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. YOU USE SecretFolders AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE AUTHOR WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DATA LOSS, DAMAGES, LOSS OF PROFITS OR ANY OTHER KIND OF LOSS WHILE USING OR MISUSING THIS SOFTWARE IN ANY ENVIRONMENT.

(3)

All copyrights to "SecretFolders" are exclusively owned by the authors - SIHS.

(4)

You are welcome to test the trail copy for 30 days. These 30 days do not have to be continuous calendar dates. If you don't run SecretFolders on a particular date, it doesn't count against your 30 days. This gives you plenty of time to try SecretFolders on your own system. After you tested the trail copy of SecretFolders, you are required to license this product and discontinue use of the trail copy. Only the trail copy of SecretFolders may be distributed freely on online services, bulletin boards, or other electronic media as long as the files are distributed in their entirety.

(5)

After purchasing, SISH grants you a non-exclusive license to use one copy of the software, on one computer, and make one copy of it for archival purposes. For purposes of this section, "use" means loading the software into RAM, as well as installation on a hard disk or other storage device. You may access the software from a hard disk, or any other method you choose, so long as you otherwise comply with this agreement. You may not install the licensed version of the software onto a network server or in any other way make it available to more than one user at a time unless you have arranged in advance for a multi-user license; make copies of the software other than one backup copy solely for archival purposes; sell, furnish, transmit, or give away the software such that the software is exploited in a commercial way; or sublicense, rent, lease, or otherwise market the software. You may permanently transfer the software to another owner only by providing written notice of such transfer to SISH.

(6)

You may not alter this software in any way, including emulate, clone, rent, lease, sell, modify, decompile, disassemble, changing or removing any messages or windows, otherwise reverse engineer, or transfer the licensed program, or any subset of the licensed program, except as provided for in this agreement. Any such unauthorised use shall result in immediate and automatic termination of this license and may result in severe criminal and/or civil prosecution.

(7)

An upgrade replaces a previous version. It does not provide an additional license. When upgrading you must cease using the previous version, and also ensure that it is not used by anybody else.

(8)

All rights not expressly granted here are reserved by the Authors.

(9)

The terms of this license, as well as the SecretFolders interface design, documentation, and coding are subjects of changes in future versions of SecretFolders without any prior notice.

(10)

Installing and using SecretFolders signifies acceptance of these terms and conditions of the license. If you do not agree with the terms of this license you must remove SecretFolders files from your storage devices and cease to use the product.


Disclaimer

SecretFolders is supplied as is without warranty of any kind. SISH hereby disclaims all warranties and guarantees regarding the use, or the results of use, of SecretFolders in terms of correctness, accuracy, reliability or otherwise. SISH will not be responsible for any incidental, consequential, direct or indirect damages, including but not limited to damages for loss of profits, business interruption and loss of information resulting from the correct or otherwise use of SecretFolders even if SISH has been advised of the possibility of such damages. By installing SecretFolders you acknowledge that you have read this disclaimer, understood it, and you agree to be bound by its terms and conditions. You also agree that the disclaimer is the complete and exclusive statement of agreement between the parties and supersede all proposals or prior agreements, oral or written, and any other communications between the parties relating to the subject matter of the disclaimer.