Keeping files secure - easy to use encryption freeware?

[Pazuzu]

I want to keep some photographs in a secure file .The laptop runs Windows 7 Home Premium & when I went to create a password protected directory Windows help said that this was not possible.
Can anyone suggest a simple solution? Is there any simple to use , free encryption software you might recommend for a novice?

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

TrueCrypt is a popular option: https://www.techspot.com/downloads/2966-truecrypt.html