Guides/Windows
How to encrypt files on Windows without admin rights
On a locked-down Windows machine you often can't install anything. You can still encrypt a folder: open a single HTML file in Edge, Chrome, or Brave, and let it do the work.
Setup
Copy Elba.html to Documents (or a USB stick). Double-click and let Edge open it. Point Elba at the folder you want sealed. Enter a password. Close the tab.
About BitLocker
BitLocker protects the disk when the machine is off. Elba protects a specific folder while you're logged in. They layer cleanly.
Questions people actually ask
- Will corporate policy block it?
- Elba writes no registry keys and installs nothing. Some managed browsers restrict File System Access — test first.
- Any files left behind?
- None outside the sealed folder itself. Delete the HTML and there's nothing to clean up.
Take the island
Elba is one HTML file. It runs locally in a Chromium browser, seals a folder with AES-256-GCM, never phones home, and becomes open source on 1 January 2030.
- €49MMXXVI· now ·
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- FreeMMXXX2030
the price falls each year · free to all 1 jan 2030
pay once · no account · nothing leavesRelated guides
- Elba vs BitLocker: disk vs folder, two layers of the same idea
BitLocker encrypts the whole Windows disk; Elba seals one folder on top. They aren't rivals — they layer.
- File encryption with no installation required
Portable, install-free file encryption. Elba is a single HTML file — no admin rights, no installer, no leftovers on the machine.
- A portable encryption tool that fits on a USB drive
Elba runs from a USB stick with no install. One HTML file, one launcher, one folder — sealed with AES-256-GCM wherever you plug it in.