read only

[travis simmons]

how can i take my ex hd and make the files and the stuff inside read only to other computers and require a password to change things around on any os

 

[Barman58]

With great difficulty

You will need some form of encryption and to find a program that will encrypt against all operating systems whilst still giving password restricted access would be I believe near impossible.

Best bet would probably be TrueCrypt - Free Open-Source On-The-Fly Disk Encryption Software for Windows 7/Vista/XP, Mac OS X and Linux - Downloads which does work on most available OSs but not sure if the data would be accessible from all, once encrypted with one

 

[travis simmons]

but will this not ;et them copy the folders just use them

 

[travis simmons]

but will this block them from copying it just allowing them to use it and can i change it with a password

 

[Barman58]

Truecrypt creates a virtual disk which may only be accessed using the software and providing the correct key, it may be possible to move this "capsule" using low level disk management techniques, Partition cloning, Etc. but you would still need the software and key to access anything.

Nothing is totally safe from truly expert hands but this sort of encryption is the best available to general users. Window's own Bitlocker provides a similar system but is only available on windows, of course

 

[Corazon]

I agree with the Truecrypt recommendation, but as a very basic principle...if you can read it, you can copy it. It's logically impossible to allow reading and prevent copying at the same time...