Since some people were having issues with this method of hiding a folder in XP (folder being renamed incorrectly, visible via the command prompt, etc), but we can hide content of the folder using a script to morph the folder into something completely different so that it’s still visible, but nothing inside the folder is accessible. In order to view the data, you have to run another script to morph it back. Anyone who clicks on the folder will be brought to the Control Panel and simply think it is a shortcut.

To hide content of the folder, perform next steps:

1.Create folder that will be hidden. For example let`s name it "Secure_folder":

2.In the same location where we created the new folder, create a new file in Notepad, copy ren Secure_folder Secure_folder.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} into it, where "Secure_folder" is the folder name and save it as "lock.bat":

     Now we have a bat file named lock in the same directory as our Secure_folder, not inside the Secure_folder:

3.Create another NotePad file and type in the following ren Secure_folder.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} Secure_folder and save it as “key.bat”:

4. Now we’ll have "lock.bat" and "key.bat" along with our folder. Go ahead and double-click on "lock.bat" and our folder will turn into the Control Panel and nothing inside can be viewed. Clicking on it will simply bring you to the Control Panel. We’ll notice the icon should have changed also:

5. To view the data inside your folder again, click on "key.bat" and our folder will return to normal.

Of course, keeping the key.bat file in the same folder will defeat the purpose of securing the folder, so it’s best to move the key.bat file somewhere else, or even better, put it on a USB stick or CD that only you can access.