Encrypted files can only be accessed by the particular user account that encrypted them.
Select a folder or individual files, open the Properties window, click the “Advanced” button under Attributes, and activate the “Encrypt contents to secure data” option. You do this from the File Explorer window. Where BitLocker is a “set it and forget it” system, EFS requires you manually select the files you want to encrypt and change this setting. Rather than encrypting your entire drive, you use EFS to encrypt individual files and directories, one by one. RELATED: How to Encrypt Files and Folders in Windows 8.1 Pro Using EFSĮFS - the “encrypting file system” - works differently. It encrypts the entire drive rather than individual files on it. While “drive encryption” is more limited on Windows 10 and 8.1, it works similarly on PCs where it’s available. BitLocker uses the computer’s trusted platform module - or TPM - hardware. When an administrator enables BitLocker, every single user account on the PC will have its files encrypted.
