Securing your ZIP files with a password is great for maintaining data privacy, especially when sharing sensitive information online or storing it in shared locations. Here’s how you can do it on Windows and macOS.
For Windows Users
1. Choose the ZIP file you want to protect.
2. Right-click on the file or folder you want to encrypt and select Properties> Advanced> Encrypt contents to secure data> OK.
3. Choose full-folder encryption in Windows to secure both the file and its parent folder along with all the files within it.
4. A pop-up window will appear. You’ll have the choice to back up the encryption key to ensure you always have access to the file. If you don’t want to back up, just select Never back up to finish. Otherwise, choose Back up now and follow the steps.
For MacOS Users
1. Go to Applications> Utilities> Terminal.
2. Use the cd command to navigate to the directory of the file or folder you want to compress. Example: cd Documents
3. Use the following command:
zip -e protected.zip myfile.txt4. Replace protected.zip with your desired ZIP file name and myfile.txt with the file or folder you wish to password-protect.
5. Enter and confirm the password when prompted.
Using WinRAR or 7-Zip
1. Open WinRAR or 7-Zip.Select the ZIP file you created.
2. Click Add to archive (in WinRAR) or Add (in 7-Zip).
3. Under the General tab, look for the option to set a password.
4. Enter and confirm your desired password> Click OK.
To find out more visit our FAQs page!