How can I password protect or encrypt a folder in Windows 10?

Before password protecting a folder in Windows 10, you should pay attention to the encryption algorithms used by the software.

AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)

Key sizes: 128-bit, 192-bit, or 256-bit (most secure).

Used in: BitLocker, 7-Zip

Pros: Fast, highly secure, widely adopted.

Blowfish & Twofish

Key size: Up to 448-bit (Blowfish), 256-bit (Twofish).

Used in: Older systems, some password managers.

Pros: Flexible key length, resistant to brute force.

RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman)

Key sizes: 2048-bit or 4096-bit (recommended).

Used in: SSL/TLS, PGP/GPG email encryption.

Pros: Secure for key exchange.

Cons: Slow for large files.

However, for mostcases, AES-256 is the gold standard for encrypting a folder in Windows 10. For sharing files securely, combine AES (for data) with RSA (for key exchange).