Review: Hider 2

Recent revelations about government snooping and security holes in software mean the safety of files and personal information is high on the agenda right now. For most, the chances of keeping government-level secret data on your Mac is slim. However, there’s still a lot of information and data to protect.

Step forward Hider 2, which offers a secure and simple way to protect your files and folders. The idea of Hider is to provide a hidden and encrypted vault for files and folders that leave them invisible to the casual observer, but readily available to you, the end user. 

Simply create a vault, give it a password then drag and drop your files onto Hider 2 and they’re hidden from view: locked and password protected. You can group files together or keep them separate, and instantly un-hide all or just individual documents. Once you’re done adding files, click to close the interface, or, after a few moments, the vault closes so your files are safe – even if you forget to protect them. You can store files locally or on a removable disk, and there’s a toolbar icon to give you fast access to the hidden files and folders. 

Hider 2 offers protection from perhaps the most likely hack of any computer: physical access. For this sort of protection, Hider excels; it’s also very useful even if you just want to hide your personal files on a Mac that other family members or colleagues have access to. 

The bottom line. Hider 2 offers a strong first line of line of defense for files and folders that contain sensitive data.