Standalone users of Microsoft Outlook can password-protect the Personal Folders .pst file used to store all messages and other items.
“I was wondering if there is some way that I can configure a password required to open Microsoft Outlook program. The thing is my computer can be accessed by a lot of people in my absence and I want to protect my emails to be read by another person than me.”
Yes, its possible to password-protect your Outlook data file. However, once Outlook is open, anyone with access to your computer can view the contents of your pst file. For this reason you should secure your computer: when you step away, press Windows key + L to lock it. (And don’t share your password!)
Outlook does not offer a way to password protect just one folder in the *.pst file. It’s all folders or nothing and you need to enter the password to open Outlook. See Tools for a utility that will allow you to password protect folders.
Note that pst passwords are not very secure as the password is easily removed (password recovery tools are listed in the Tools section at the end of this article.)
Many users ask for a method to password protect individual folders. Outlook does not offer this feature. However, the addins listed next will add this capability.
Password Protect Folder Tools
Tools
Use LockOutlook to lock Outlook or specific folders so others can't view your mailbox. Lock Outlook manually as needed or configure it to lock Outlook automatically. Works with Outlook 2002-2010. (Site is in German.) |
To password protect your Outlook *.pst file
To set a password on an Outlook pst file:
- Go to the top level of your folder, where Outlook Today is found. The folder name may include “Outlook Today” or your email account name.
- Right click on it and choose Properties (Data File Properties in Outlook 2010)
- Click the Advanced button
- Click Change Password
- Leave the Old Password field blank and enter a New Password and verify password.
Leave the Save this password in your password list box unchecked. This prevents the password from being cached (otherwise, anyone can open the data file on this computer). You will need to type it each time you run Outlook.
If you are changing an existing password, type both the old and new passwords in the respective fields. When you open Outlook, you’ll be asked for the password. This will prevent someone from opening Outlook and viewing your email. If Outlook is open, anyone using your computer can access your email – to protect it, you either need to close Outlook or lock the desktop when you walk away by pressing the Windows+L key.
Use a password you will remember because passwords can be difficult to recover. See Tools and More Information below for assistance with lost PST passwords.
See Bug in Outlook PST password protection for an explanation of how Outlook saves the password.
Password Protect Data File Tutorial
Password Removal and Recovery Tools
Tools
Atomic PST Password Recovery restores MS Outlook .pst file password instantly, let you see email messages, contacts and calendar stored in your Personal Folders again. | |
Kernel for Outlook PST Password Recovery is a free tool to recover forgotten password from Outlook PST files. Software takes Outlook PST file as input and does not require Outlook to be installed and configured. It supports password recovery from PST files created in MS Outlook 2010/2007/2003/XP/2000/97. | |
Mail PassView allows you to view and recover lost e-mail account passwords and other account information for Outlook and other mail clients. Freeware. Version 1.43 | |
Outlook Key is a program to gain access to password protected Personal Storage Files .PST used by MS Outlook and MS Exchange to store e-mail, contacts and other items. | |
Outlook Password allows you to recover MS Outlook PST files' passwords. These PST (Personal Storage) files may be part of your MS Outlook Profile or just independent files - whatever the case, Outlook Password will recover your password. Outlook Password can also recover e-mail accounts’ information and passwords from your local MS Outlook records. Outlook Password works with all versions of MS Outlook from 97 to Outlook 2007. Version 1.6 | |
Outlook Password Recovery recovers lost or forgotten passwords for Microsoft Outlook email accounts and PST personal folders. The program supports all versions of Microsoft Outlook, including 2003. Version 2. | |
Protected Storage PassView is a small utility that reveals the passwords stored on your computer. The passwords are revealed by reading the information from the Protected Storage. Works with Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP. It does not work with Vista. Version 1.63 | |
PstPassword can recover the PST passwords of Outlook 97, Outlook 2000, Outlook XP, Outlook 2003, and Outlook 2007. You don't need to have Outlook installed to use this utility, you only need the original PST file that you locked with a password. Freeware. Version 1.10 | |
Recovers forgotten or lost passwords for mail accounts and also passwords for LDAP services that the Microsoft Outlook mail client uses in its work. Recovers passwords for password-protected Microsoft Outlook data files (files with the *.pst extension). | |
Outlook Password Recovery software helps in recovering the lost or forgotten password with its advanced mechanism. The password recovery software scans the locked Outlook PST file and provides a set of six different passwords for that file. Stellar Outlook password recovery software has the capacity to recover the password with special characters and also allows to save the generated password in a text file. The recovery software is easy to use and compatible with almost all the Windows operating systems like Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, 2000 and NT4 (SP6). | |
An advanced Outlook PST Repair tool which scans, repairs and restores all the components in Outlook PST file with its advanced algorithm. Stellar Phoenix Outlook pst repair software incorporates several extraordinary features such as deleted email recovery, selected items recovery, encrypted and password protected PST files recovery, repairs PST files which are larger than 2 GB etc. The demo version of the PST repair software provides the preview of the PST objects that could be recovered. Also the software efficiently works with all latest versions of Outlook like 2010, 2007, 2003, 2002, 2000. |
More Information
Remove a Password From a *.PST File (only for Outlook 97- 2003 format)
Bug in Outlook PST password protection explains how Outlook saves the password.
- If you check the Save this password in your password list box,, you won’t have to enter a password every time you use the PST file, but anyone walking up to your computer while you’re logged on will also be able to use it.
- PST file passwords very easy to crack making them less than secure.
- If you use an Exchange Server mailbox, rather than a Personal Folders file, security is tied to your Windows login.
For Exchange server mailboxes, see Securing Outlook with Exchange mailboxes
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Last reviewed on Dec 8, 2011
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