Hide My Folders Review_574

Hide My Folders Review
What is Hide My Folders?
Hide My Folders is Eltima Software's program designed to hide file and folders on Windows operating systems so that they cannot be seen in Windows Explorer.
Installation
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The installation of Eltima Software’s Hide My Folders 2.1.8.64 involves the following steps: welcome screen, EULA, install location, Start Menu folder selection and completing the wizard by clicking Finish. This, by default, launches the application.
System Requirements
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After the first install on a patched Vista system (32-bit, Ultimate, English) did the Hide My Folders application claim to hide my test objects, but they were completely visible in Windows Explorer, and a reboot etc wouldn’t help at all.
The software is supposed to work with Vista, but the experiment failed again on a Vista SP1 clean install without any other software; please see the section help & support for my experience with the vendor’s support.
Hide My Folders worked as designed on Windows XP, but Hide My Folders’ system requirements remain in the dark. Their contradictionary statements taken from the vendor’s website and manual are found in the appendix, but why waste your time?
Interface
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Hide My Folders GUI is logically organized plus easy to handle; it includes drag & drop support. The left side pane is the “Explorer”, and in the right pane you can toggle files' and folders' hidden property. You can start and stop the Hide My Folders hiding engine with one click.
Features & Performance
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The Hide My Folders lets you hide files and folders; you can, for zxcsky5213 instance, hide specific files in a folder and show the rest if you want. Of more use perhaps is that you can hide files based on their extension category such as .txt or docx.
The software can optionally be protected by means of a password, and last but not least can Hide My Folders hide files and folders when booting into Windows safe mode.
Hide My Folders‘ hidden objects are not visible in Windows Explorer, but a forensic analysis or savvy admin might be able to see all your files and folders in no time, so you may want to consider alternative software or techniques should you have a need for hiding file objects more securely.
Help & Support
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The Hide My Folders application has a good help file / user manual including How To’s for example. Eltima Software support can be contacted by MSN and Yahoo! and other instant messengers, email as well as telephone – according to their documentation.
Using MSN messenger I have not been able to reach support for, what seems to be a serious Vista incompatibility, and my mail to support has been bouncing back for more than two business days, so its about time this article is going to be published.
Price to Value
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A single license of Hide My Folders 2.1 for home users carries a price tag of $39.95; discounts, coupon codes as well as corporate site licenses are available.
The Bottom Line
The demo version of Hide My Folders is fully functional for 14 days, but I rather suggest you look a solution which also encrypts objects, or alternatively, consider Steganography.
Appendix