The present invention relates to data encryption and more particularly to data encryption for prevention of malware attacks designed to access user data. The present invention protects user data against regular malware and advance malware like rootkit attacks, zero day attacks and anti-malware disabler attacks. In one embodiment, the present invention uses encryption, application whitelisting, and application binding to prevent malware from accessing a victim's data files. In another embodiment, the present invention uses application path binding to further contain the malware from accessing the victim's data.