Windows 10: Encrypt Files and Folders with EFS in Windows 10

How to: Encrypt Files and Folders with EFS in Windows 10

How to Encrypt Files and Folders with Encrypting File System (EFS) in Windows 10


Information The Encrypting File System (EFS) is the built-in encryption tool in Windows used to encrypt files and folders on NTFS drives to protect them from unwanted access. EFS enables transparent encryption and decryption of files for your user account by using advanced, standard cryptographic algorithms. Any individual or app that doesn't possess the appropriate file encryption key cannot open any encrypted files and folders. Encryption is the strongest protection that Windows provides to help you keep your individual files and folders secure.

This tutorial will show you how to encrypt your files and folders with Encrypting File System (EFS) in Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.



Note When you encrypt a file or folder with EFS in Windows 10, its icon will have a lock overlay at the top right corner to indicate that it's an EFS encrypted file or folder.

When you encrypt a folder, any new file saved into the folder will automatically be encrypted by EFS.

If an administrator restore the file encryption key for them.

If you encrypt a compressed file or folder, the file or folder will no longer be compressed afterwards.

If you compress an EFS encrypted file or folder, the file or folder will no longer be encrypted afterwards.

If you ZIP an EFS encrypted file or folder, the file or folder will no longer be encrypted afterwards.

If you try to copy or move an EFS encrypted file or folder to a location that does not support encryption, you will be prompted with a "Do you want to copy this file without encryption" type dialog like below.






Warning It is highly recommended that you back up your file encryption key after encrypting files and folders to help avoid permanently losing access to your encrypted files and folders.

If you lose access to your encrypted files and folders, you will not be able to open them again unless you first restore the file encryption key for them.





CONTENTS:

• Option One: To Encrypt Folder in Advanced Attributes
• Option Two: To Encrypt File in Advanced Attributes
• Option Three: To Encrypt Folder in Command Prompt
• Option Four: To Encrypt File in Command Prompt

OPTION ONE [/i] To Encrypt Folder in Advanced Attributes
1. Right click or press and hold on a folder you want to encrypt with EFS, and click/tap on Properties.

2. In the General tab, click/tap on the Advanced button. (see screenshot below)



3. Check the Encrypt contents to secure data box, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)



4. Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)



5. Select (dot) to either Apply changes to this folder only or Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files for what you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)







OPTION TWO [/i] To Encrypt File in Advanced Attributes
1. Right click or press and hold on a file you want to encrypt with EFS, and click/tap on Properties.

2. In the General tab, click/tap on the Advanced button. (see screenshot below)



3. Check the Encrypt contents to secure data box, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)



4. Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)



5. Select (dot) to either Encrypt the file and its parent folder or Encrypt the file only for what you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)







OPTION THREE [/i] To Encrypt Folder in Command Prompt


Note To see more usage options for the Cipher command, see: Cipher - Microsoft TechNet


1. Open a command prompt.

2. Enter the command you want to use below into the command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshots below)
(Apply changes to this folder only)
*Arrow cipher /e "full path of folder"

OR

(Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files)
*Arrow cipher /e /s:"full path of folder"



Note Substitute full path of folder in the commands above with the actual full path of the folder you want to encrypt with EFS.








3. When finished, you can close the command prompt if you like.




OPTION FOUR [/i] To Encrypt File in Command Prompt


Note To see more usage options for the Cipher command, see: Cipher - Microsoft TechNet


1. Open a command prompt.

2. Enter the command below into the command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
*Arrow cipher /e "full path of file with extension"



Note Substitute full path of file with extension in the command above with the actual full path of the file you want to encrypt with EFS.





3. When finished, you can close the command prompt if you like.


That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Enable or Disable NTFS File Encryption in Windows
• How to Decrypt Files and Folders Encrypted with EFS in Windows 10
• How to Back Up Your EFS File Encryption Certificate and Key in Windows 10
• How to Import Your EFS File Encryption Certificate and Key in Windows 10
• How to Find and List All Your EFS Encrypted Files in Windows 10
• How to Change or Remove Lock Icon on Encrypted Files and Folders in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off to Index Encrypted Files in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off BitLocker for Operating System Drive in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off BitLocker for Fixed Data Drives in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off BitLocker for Removable Data Drives in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove EFS "File ownership" Context Menu in Windows 10
• Turn On or Off Show Encrypted or Compressed NTFS files in Color in Windows 10
• How to Enable or Disable Automatically Encrypt Files Moved to EFS Encrypted Folders in Windows

:)

 

Windows 10 download folder and Encrypted File System (EFS)

Windows 10 Pro: My downloads folder is set to encrypt (EFS). Files downloaded to the download folder are NOT encrypted. This started becoming a problem in Windows 8.1. Problem was sporadic. In Windows 10 problem is now 100%. No file downloaded to
this folder is encrypted. How can I get Windows 10 to observe the "encrypt contents" attribute of this folder?

 

Win 10 pro EFS Encrypting File System Problem (Dell)

Hi,

Thank you for being a part of Windows 10.

I appreciate you for providing details about the issue and we are happy to help you.

I suggest you to start the Encrypting File System (EFS) Service and check if it helps.

Follow the below steps:

• Press Windows key + R from the Keyboard.
• Type services.msc and hit Enter.
• Search for Encrypting File System (EFS) Service.
• Double click on Encrypting File System (EFS) Service and click on
  Start button.
• Click on the dropdown list and set the Startup type to
  Automatic.

If the issue still persists then, I suggest you to post the same question in TechNet forum for further assistance with this issue. Follow the below link to post your question in TechNet forum.

Technet forums

Kindly let us know if you need any further assistance with Windows. We are glad to assist you.

Thank you.

 

Confused about EFS encryption

Brink,

I also like your tutorial on finding EFS encrypted files here:

Find All Encrypted Files in Windows 10

The only downside is that it doesn't list folders that are encrypted. As a result, I like to turn on the option in File Explorer to show encrypted files and / or folders in color so that I can visually see if a folder has encryption set.

 

Can I recover encrypted files with EFS without having key.pfx file ?

Hi Michael,

The Encrypting File System (EFS) is a built-in encryption tool for Windows. It is used to encrypt files and folders on your computer. You can reverse the encryption to access your files again. To decrypt folders, follow the steps below:

• Right-click the folder or file, then click Properties.
• Click the General tab, then click Advanced.
• Uncheck the Encrypt contents to secure data checkbox.
• If you are decrypting folders, select the option Apply changes to this folder, subfolder and files.
• Click OK, then click OK again to exit the window.

Let us know if the solution above works for you.

 

Confused about EFS encryption

EFS encryption has never been anything but trouble for me (and probably for most people), and I would love to be able to turn it off completely. I followed the steps on this page:
Disable Auto Encrypt Files Moved to EFS Encrypted Folders in Windows and I'm wondering how free I am from encryption now. The note says the system will still encrypt when copying files, and I'm only safe from encryption when moving files. I'm not sure if that means my system will continue to encrypt a file every time I copy it, or if I'll be free of the problem now. Could anyone please tell me in which circumstances my system will continue to encrypt my files? Thank you for your help!