Folder Phantom Redux: Hide Files from Prying Eyes
Developer:


WinAbility Software is a small company located in Rockville, Utah, that specializes in developing security and file-management tools.


Released: September 26, 2011


Supported Platforms: Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, & 7 (32 & 64-bit)
In 2007 a folder hiding program was released , Folder Phantom. It was a very popular utility that allowed you to protect folders from prying eyes. Unfortunately it wasn't very secure. By changing some settings the hidden folders could be exposed.
due to this,its developers had gone back to the drawing board and developed a completely new version of Folder Phantom and named it Folder Phantom Redux. This version provides much greater security and additional features.


New features include:
1.Choice of hiding or just locking the folder
2.Ability to protect the folder even when Windows is running in safe mode
3.When the protected folder is locked but visible and you click on it, a prompt for a password will appear from Explorer


Using:
To use Folder Phantom Redux you first need to configure it. When you launch the utility for the first time you will be presented with a password dialog .
Specify a password that you would like to use for Folder Phantom Redux, confirm it, and click OK.


You have two options to protect your folder. You can hide the folder or you can lock the folder which will keep the folder visible but prompt the user for a password when the folder is attempted to be accessed.


1. If you choose the Hide the folder method: the folder you have selected will become completely hidden. If someone were to browse your computer with Windows Explorer, or with another program, he or she would not see the phantom folder in the list of folders on your computer.  For all practical purposes the folder would not exist for users while it is protected by Folder Phantom Redux.


2. If you select the Lock the folder with password method:the folder you have chosen will remain visible, but an attempt to open it will result in a password prompt shown on the screen. 


Another change from the prior version is that you can no longer protect multiple folders. In order to enhance the security of the utility the developers needed to make a trade-off. Folder Phantom Redux can only protect one folder at a time. That being said, you can put as many subfolders as you'd like within the protected folder and they will be protected as well.


Neelam Bhavnani
cs IInd year