Microsoft Private Folder and prfldsvc.exe

by Oscar Sodani

July 17, 2006

Oscar Sodani is a founder of Help2Go and owner of Help2Go Networks, an IT consulting firm in the Washington D.C. area. Oscar holds the CISSP certification as well as industry certifications from Microsoft, Cisco and Novell.

Microsoft has released a new free program called Microsoft Private Folder. The utility adds a "My Private Folder" to your computer that is password protected. Unfortunately, the encryption and password protection are relatively weak, so we wouldn't store state secrets there. But it is perfectly fine for casual use.

You can download Private Folder directly from Microsoft or other sites. Unfortunately, you will need to verify that your computer's Windows OS is "genuine" via their idiotic Genuine Advantage utility.

Private Folder will add a new program to your startup list called prfldsvc.exe and a new service with the same name, so don't be alarmed if you spot it.

If you are looking for a more secure and robust program that is also free, check out the open-source TrueCrypt.

Have a question? Need help? Get free, friendly person-to-person help with your computer questions or spyware questions in our help forums!

[ Back ]
More Tutorials
More Software Utilities