Click Finish.Ī dialog box displays saying the export was successful. Click Next.Ī summary of your chosen settings displays on the final screen. The path to your file is entered in the File name edit box. You can save it on the hard drive initially, but be sure to move it to an external drive, such as a USB flash drive. Navigate to the location where you want to save the encryption certificate and key file. On the File to Export screen, click Browse. Select the Password check box and enter a strong password in the Password edit box and again in the Confirm password edit box. It is not recommended to Never back up the key.Ĭlick Next on the first screen of the Certificate Export Wizard.Īccept the default selection for the file format for the exported encryption certificate and key and click Next. If youâ€™re not ready to back up the encryption certificate and key yet, you can select Back up later to be reminded the next time you log in. On the Encrypting File System dialog box, click Back up now. NOTE: If the popup message above disappeared before you could click it, click the Notification Area arrow and click the Encrypting File System icon. You will also see a popup in the Notification Area on the Taskbar recommending that you backup your encryption key in case the original one is lost or corrupted. Any files or folders you create in the main folder in the future are also encrypted. If you encrypted a folder and all its subfolders and files, any folders and files inside the main folder are also encrypted and displayed in green. The folder, or file, you encrypted displays in green text now. If youâ€™re encrypting a folder, you are asked if you want to encrypt only the folder or the folder and all subfolders and files. The Confirm Attribute Changes dialog box displays. On the Advanced Attributes dialog box, select the Encrypt contents to secure data check box and click OK.Ĭlick OK on the Properties dialog box to close it. On the General tab on the Properties dialog box, click the Advanced in the Attributes section. Right-click on the folder and select Properties from the popup menu. Click File Explorer in the list of results. The Search box displays and starts to list matches as you type. If you are on the Start screen, start typing â€œexplorerâ€ (without the quotes). To encrypt a folder or a file, open File Explorer by clicking the File Explorer icon on the Taskbar if you are on the Desktop. That means that you also need to be careful you do not forget your login, or you will be locked out of your own files. Other users on the system will be able to see the files but will not be able to open them, even if they are running as administrator. NOTE: Files and folders you encrypt using EFS can only be decrypted using the Windows login that encrypted the file.

Efs file decryption tool