Encrypting files and folders is a way to protect them from unwanted access. Modern Windows versions do have built-in options to store files in an encrypted format on your hard disk. GPG4win is the official GnuPG distribution for Windows. Decrypting works pretty much the same, but there are many more options like other people, but encryption will be fairly easy once you have practiced the basics. The Birele ransomware encrypts all your files and offers to sell you the password needed to access them again.”]
Source: https://blog.malwarebytes.com/cybercrime/2013/07/how-to-encrypt-files-and-folders/