How To Remove Padlock Or Lock Icon From Drives In Windows 10
279How To Remove Padlock Or Lock Icon From Drives In Windows 10.
If you see a lock icon overlaid on your files or folders, it means the sharing or security options have been tampered with, either by you or a software or when changing operating systems and migrating data or when tweaking the HomeGroup settings. The padlock icon means that the file or folder is not shared with anyone. The padlock usually appears on PC’s with HomeGroups.
To solve this problem, you either need to take ownership of that folder or change your user’s access rights. You need to be an administrator in order to make this kind of change. This can be done by changing the security settings on the folder to allow the Users group to, at the very least, read from the folder.
Protecting your hard drives can help prevent unwanted access and adds more security to your data. Windows allows encryption of files and folders through the Encryption File System or EFS. Once your drives are encrypted, you will see a padlock or lock icon on your drives.
Pro and Enterprise editions of Windows 10 has a BitLocker feature that puts drives in a locked state and encrpyt them for added protection. EFS is not as strong as BitLocker but works efficiently too. When you encrypt your files and drives, no one is allowed access to them unless decrypted using your Windows user account password.
This tutorial will apply for computers, laptops, desktops, and tablets running the Windows 10 operating system (Home, Professional, Enterprise, Education) from all supported hardware manufactures, like Dell, HP, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Lenovo, and Samsung.