Regardless of the purpose for which you use your computer, chances are, there are files on your computer that you don’t want anyone to rename or delete. But unfortunately, the way Windows works, there isn’t really a default mechanism to help you prevent files from being deleted on your computer. Anyone with access to your computer can find your files and change, rename, and even delete them from your computer.
Protecting these important files is a task in itself. While Windows does not protect your files by default, it does offer an option to help protect your files from any deletion attempts. In fact, there are several ways, both built-in and third-party, that help prevent files on your computer from being modified.
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Prevent files from being deleted using the default
The best way to prevent files from being renamed and deleted on Windows is to use the default option available on your system. It does not require installation and can be easily accessed and used even by beginners.
- Find the file you want to prevent from being deleted in File Explorer. Right-click the file and select the Properties option.
- When the properties dialog opens, you will see four tabs at the top. Click on the tab labeled “Security” as this is where the setting you want is located.
- Under the Security tab, you will find an Advanced button at the bottom. Click on it and a new dialog box will open.
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- On the next screen, you can define the permissions for the selected file. Click the Disable Inheritance button to change the file’s permissions.
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- A prompt appears with two options in it. Select the one that says “Convert inherited permissions to explicit permissions on this object.”
Prevent Files From Being Deleted Or Renamed In Windows”/>
- You will now see a list of all your accounts on the screen. Click the account that you want to prevent from deleting the file, and then click the Change button. This will allow you to change the file permissions for the selected account.
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- Be sure to click Show Advanced Permissions on the next screen to see all the available permissions. Alternatively, select Deny from the Type drop-down menu.
Then check the following options and these permissions will be revoked from the selected user account.
A) Reading Permissions
B) Change Permissions
C) Accept Ownership
D) DeleteClick OK when done »To save your changes.
- On the next screen, also click “OK” and then close any open dialog boxes on your computer.
- Right-click the file and select Properties.
- By default, you will be taken to the General tab. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll find the Hidden option. Check this option and click OK.
- Open an Explorer window on your PC.
- Click the View menu at the top and you will see several new options. Find the Options option, click it, and select Change Folder and Search Options.
- Click the View tab in the dialog box that opens on your screen. Look for an entry named Don’t show hidden files, folders, or drives and enable it. Click OK to save your changes.
- Download, install and run the Prevent app on your Windows PC.
- When you start the application, you will see that you can only configure one parameter.
It’s called “Define Hotkey” and allows you to specify a keyboard shortcut that stops the application from starting. Use any of the available keyboard shortcuts and then click Activate.
- The application will start and if you right-click on the file, you will find that the above options are grayed out. You cannot click or use them. The app also disables physical buttons for these actions.
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Prevent Files From Being Deleted Or Renamed In Windows”/>
The file you have selected is now protected from being changed, renamed or deleted on your computer. If a user you have denied access tries to delete the file, they will receive a permission error and will not be able to continue with the task.
Prevent files from being renamed and deleted by hiding files
Another way to prevent files from being deleted or renamed is to hide files. This way, your files won’t show up in File Explorer, and any other user won’t see it, let alone delete the file on your computer.
Hide files to prevent them from being deleted
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Your file should now be hidden.
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If you have the ability to view hidden files enabled on your computer, you need to disable it, otherwise your file will become visible.
Disable viewing of hidden files in Windows
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Your hidden file should now be completely hidden and will not show up in File Explorer until the above option is enabled.
Use Prevent to remove the file deletion and rename options
The user can delete or rename your files only because they have the ability to do so in Explorer. What if you could somehow disable unnecessary options in the File Explorer menu so that the user can’t even initiate unwanted actions?
Well, there is an app that allows you to do this.
Meet Prevent, a small application that allows you to disable certain options in File Explorer on your computer. It lets you turn off options such as Rename, Delete, Cut, and Copy so that no one can touch or change your selected files.
This application can be downloaded and used on your computer completely free of charge. Moreover, it only takes up a small amount of memory on your computer.
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Prevent Files From Being Deleted Or Renamed In Windows”/>
When you decide it’s time to enable these options, simply press the keyboard shortcut assigned to the application and the application will stop working. Then you can rename, delete, cut and copy the file as before.
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