EaseUS LockMyFile Review

Key Features

• (New) Full Support for Windows 11
• Supports hiding, locking and encryption of files
• Support for local disks, external disks and network shares
• Full AES 256-bit encryption support
• Folder activity monitoring tools
• Secure file deletion tool (file shredder)
• Support for both GLF and EXE encrypted file formats
• Support for self-decrypting (EXE) formats
• Stealth mode – helps hide evidence of app install
• Subscription pricing options available from $29.99
• Perpetual licence with lifetime updates available at $69.95

LockMyFile Usability

In this section of my review I will be downloading, installing and testing out the LockMyFile software for myself, this includes activating the full pro version and taking a look at the full set of features on offer here.

This all begins in the next section where I will be downloading and installing the EaseUS LockMyFile software before then activating the full set of features. If you would like to try LockMyFile for yourself then please note that EaseUS also offer a free trial version via their official website (and no personal details are required to try it out, great).

Installing LockMyFile

Installing LockMyFile begins at the official EaseUS Website where a free trial version can be downloaded or a full licence purchased. At just 14.1MB in size, this is a very quick download and I had the installer up and running on my own PC just a few moments after downloading was complete.

Whilst the main installation completes very quickly, the installer does ask for the PC to be restarted at the end of this initial process. Upon rebooting back into Windows the installer will then ask for registration to take place (if you want to make use of the limited free version then simply close this activation window to continue). With activation of the software complete (or the free version in use), next will come to one of the most important aspects of using LockMyFile, this is the setting of the master password used to control access to the application itself alongside any files locked or hidden by it.

NB – In the screen above, EaseUS offer to send a copy of our master password to our email address! Whilst this might seem useful at first, be careful when using this functionality as someone gaining access to your emails might then be able to access your locked or hidden files (much better to make use of a password manager for keeping a backup of this password in my opinion).

With the master password now set, the installation of LockMyFile will be complete and we can start making use of the application itself straight away afterwards. In the next section I will start by looking at the functionality included for locking and hiding files before moving on to other functionality such as applying full AES 256-bit encryption later on.

Hiding & Locking Files

One of the quickest, easiest and most reliable ways of protecting important documents via LockMyFile is with the “Locking File” and “Hiding File” features, both of which are easily accessible form the main left side menu as can be seen pointed out below:

NB – On the left side menu we have separate hiding and locking entries for locally attached drives, external hard drives and network shares alike. I will be making use of locally attached drives in my testing below, but be sure to make use of the correct version of the tool if using external drives or network shares yourself!

As can be seen above, starting with the “Hiding File” tool, we can select any files or folders which exist on our PC via the file picking on the right of the screen (labelled as “Hide Files”) or by simply dragging and dropping selected files or folders into the tool. As soon as these files for folders are added to this tool they will no longer be visible on the host PC without access to the LockMyFile software (which requires use of the master password to open up every time after the initial install is complete).

As can be seen above, any hidden files will appear only in the “Hiding File” screen (within the application) once they have been hidden. Unhiding these files and folders is as simple as unchecking the file and clicking the “Unhide” button towards the right of the screen (a process which must be done first in order to to use the hidden files and folders within Windows).

Moving on to the “Locking File” tool (again, found on the left side menu) and it is here we can “lock” a file or folder meaning it can only be opened only when the LockMyFile master password is entered. Unlike unhiding a file or folder, once an item is locked we don’t need the LockMyFile software open in order to access it’s contents as a separate password box will appear when the attempt to open it is made (as can be seen below):

With the application password entered, the previously locked file or folder can then be used normally again, re-locking will take place automatically once the file explorer window (or individual file) is closed down or (as would be expected) when the PC itself is next shutdown or restarted.

Removing the locking functionality from any locked files or folders does require the main LockMyFile application to be opened up again. Once open, any given item can have locking removed by simply checking said item in the “Locking File” screen and then selecting the “unlock” option on the right of the window.

NB – As of time of writing, LockMyFile does not support the hiding of a locked file, it is either one option or the other!

And with that, the main aspects of file hiding and locking files and folders have been covered, both are ideal tools for providing a basic level of document security on a Windows PC and potentially of great value when working on a shared PC or one which is frequently accessed by other users (such as a PC in a small business environment). As was noted earlier on, remember that whilst this tool does support the hiding of files and folders on external disks and the locking of files on shared (network) drives, be sure to select the correct tools on the left menu when setting these options up for maximum compatibility.

Monitoring Folder Activity

Another useful addition to the LockMyFile suite of tools is the “Folder Monitor” tool, a tool which can (again) be accessed from the main left-side menu found within the application. This is a tool which will, once activated, silently monitor all activity which takes place in any specified folders on the PC:

As can be seen above, adding folders which are to be monitored is as simple as dragging and dropping them into the main window or making use of the file picking tool which can be opened using the “Add” button on the right of the screen. Once a folder has been added to this tool for monitoring, the LockMyFile application will immediately start monitoring any activity within it and continue doing so until it is removed (thus stopping the monitoring process). As can be seen below, whenever a change is made to a monitored folder (e.g. a file is added / removed / deleted etc.) this will be reflected in the event log seen towards the bottom of the main window (this is pointed out below):

NB – It is also worth noting here that LockMyFile provides an option to export these activity logs via the “Export” button towards the bottom right of the screen, should this be needed.

Encrypting Files & Folders

At this point we come to what is (in my opinion at least) one of the most useful and important features provided by EaseUS LockMyFile, this is the ability to quickly and easily apply strong AES 256-bit encryption to files and folders which reside on the PC.

As can be seen above, selecting any files or folders to be encrypted can be done in much the same way as when using the other tools already mentioned in this review, we can also add multiple files or folders to the tool at the same time and these will be combined in the final encrypted container.

NB – Whenever making use of file encryption, always be sure to remember the password which has been set! If you forget this password for any reason then EaseUS themselves wont be able to re-set it and you could lose potentially lose access to important files as a result!

With all files and folders to be encrypted now added to the tool, the next step is making use of one of the of the two available encryption options available.

As can be seen above, when using the file encryption tool we have the option to make use of two different file encryption technologies, theses are the GFL format and the more standardised EXE file option. Whilst the GFL option requires that EaseUS LockMyFile to be installed on the PC where decryption will be taking place, the EXE option creates a self-decrypting file which can be run on any Windows PC with or without the LockMyFile software installed (making it ideal for sharing secured files over a network or in the cloud).

As can be seen above, with the encryption option now selected, the final step in encrypting the selected files will be selecting of the location to save the encrypted container and the setting of a secure password to encrypt it with (this password operates independently form the main application’s master password meaning a unique password can be set each time a container is created). With these options set, the app will then encrypt the files and store the encrypted container in the specified location.

Having now successfully created an encrypted container, the next step is to decrypt it and regain access to the contents within. As was mentioned earlier on, when using the GFL file format we must have the LockMyFile app installed on the PC. Alternatively, we can also make use of the EXE file format which can be decrypted on any modern Windows PC regardless of whether the LockMyFile app is installed or not.

The first step in decrypting the container is specifying a location on the PC for extracting any files to, after this has been done, the second step (as can be see above) is entering the password in the self-decrypting app which shows up (the process will the take place automatically form this point onwards with a progress box visible throughout).

And with that the process of encrypting and decrypting files is completed, as I mentioned earlier on, be very careful when making use of encryption as there is no way back form a forgotten password when using LockMyFile and you could lose data if you forget the password!

Other Tools & features

Having now seen the main tools and security features on offer by LockMyFile, I will be looking at some of the other tools and settings remaining in this final part of the usability section. This begins by looking at the secure “File Shredder” tool, a tool which can be opened up using the button found towards the bottom of the main app menu as is shown below:

NB – When deleting files on a Windows device, it might be possible for said files to still be recoverable with the correct tools and knowledge (even if the file has been deleted from the recycle bin after been originally deleted). With his in mind, a secure file shredding tool (such as the one seen in LockMyFile) which actually overwrites the deleted file several times, thus destroying its contents, is the safest way of ensuring deleted files are no longer readable.

As can be seen in the image above, adding any files or folders to be securely deleted can be done by simply dragging them over the tool or selecting them using the “Add Files” or “Add Folders” buttons found on the right of the screen. With all files and folders added, the next step (which is optional) is setting the level of security applied to the shredding process via the “Advanced Setting” link found towards the bottom of the window:

As can be seen above, whilst using the shredding tool we can (optionally) specify a set number of times to overwrite the data (files) which are being deleted. Generally speaking, a single pass will be secure enough in most cases but more passes should be used in certain circumstances such as when a working PC or hard drive is been sold on or being disposed of via a 3^rd party.

Moving on to the main settings page for the entire application (found via the “Settings” link at the bottom left of the main menu) and it is from here we can specify many of the application-wide settings available. This range of settings include the ability to change the master password for the application, exclude specified files, folders and drives form being used within the main application and also turn on the “stealth mode” amongst other related application settings.

As can be seen above, the stealth settings are particularity interesting here as they allow the hiding of the presence of the LockMyFile app form the PC (for example, making sure no shell menu or start menu items are visible amongst other things).