Password Protect Files Mac App

If you store any kind of confidential files on your Mac, It’s highly recommended that you add password protection to your files so they can’t be accessed by any unauthorized users. Password protection becomes more useful when you have other people accessing your Mac machine.

Your Mac provides you with an easy way to add password protection to your files. There are built-in tools that let you password protect your files from prying eyes with extreme ease. Once your files are protected, they’ll require a password before they can be accessed by anyone.

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Bear in mind though, if you ever forget the password for your files, you won’t be able to access them again. There’s simply no recovery method available for these locking tools.

Password Protect Mac Files Using Disk Utility

Disk Utility is actually there to help you play around with your Mac disks. However, it has an option for locking files as well to help you add a layer of password to your files.

The way you password protect your files with this tool is to create an image file containing your files and then add a password to it. This locks your files down and these files can then only be unlocked by entering the correct password.

Make sure to put all the files you want to lock in a single folder on your Mac.

  • Click on Launchpad in the Dock, search for and click on Disk Utility, and the tool will launch.
  • When the tool launches, click on the File menu at the top and select the option that says New Image followed by Image from Folder.
  • Navigate to the folder where the files to be locked are located, select the folder, and click on Choose.
  • You’ll get a dialog box on your screen asking you to input the information for your new image file. Enter a name for your image file and then select 128-bit AES encryption (recommended) from the Encryption dropdown menu.

A new dialog box will appear asking you to enter the password for your image file. Here type in the password you want to protect your files with and click on Choose.

You’ll be back to the first dialog box. Click on the dropdown menu for Image Format and select the value that says read/write. This will let you add new files to your password protected image file at a later time. Click on the Save button to save your image file.

You’ll find the locked image file at the destination you specified in the dialog box.

All of the files that have been put inside this image will be encrypted with a password.

Password Protect Files On Mac

Keep in mind though that this procedure hasn’t modified any of your original files and those still remain unprotected. You may want to securely delete them from your Mac as those are now available in your locked image file.

How To Access Password Protected Files

To access the files that you’ve protected with a password, all you need to do is double-click on your image file.

You’ll be prompted to enter your password. Do so and click on OK. It’ll be mounted as a storage device in the Finder and you’ll be able to access as well as add new files to it.

Mac

When you’ve finished, right-click on the mounted image file and select Eject to relock it.

If you ever want to delete these locked files, you can delete the image file and all of the files in there will be deleted from your Mac.

If you ever want to delete these locked files, you can do so by deleting the image file. It’ll delete all the files contained in the image.

Password Protect Mac Files Using Terminal

We talk quite a lot about the Mac Terminal app here on this website and it’s really because of all the great features it provides. From letting you easily access recent items from the Dock to helping you perform a number of other actions, Terminal has you covered for many tasks.

You can use it to password protect your files as well. The way it works is that you create a ZIP file containing all of your files and then add a password to this ZIP. There’s nothing you need to download and all it takes is a few commands from the Terminal app to lock your files.

  • Launch the Terminal app using your preferred way on your Mac.
  • Type in the following command and hit Enter. Replace destination with where you want to save the resulting ZIP file and source with the folder you want to lock down.
    zip -er destination source
  • You’ll be asked to enter the password you want to add to your ZIP file. Type in the password and hit Enter.
  • It’ll prompt you to enter the password again. Do so and hit Enter.
  • Your files in the folder are now added to a ZIP archive with password protection.

You can now delete the original folder from your machine.

How To Access Password Protected ZIP Archive

To access the files inside your archive, simply double-click on the archive and it’ll prompt you to enter the password.

You’ll then be able to extract the archive and view the files in it.

How To Access The ZIP Archive From Terminal

You can also extract the password protected archive from Terminal by running the following command in it. Make sure to replace lock.zip with your actual ZIP file.

unzip lock.zip

Your files will be extracted and be available for your use.

By Adela D. Louie, Last updated: December 18, 2019

Having a password protect on all the zip files on your Mac is not actually a difficult thing to do. This method will not require you to have any add-ons or you do not have to download anything. Instead of this, you can just easily use the zip utility that comes with your Mac.
This way, you can easily protect a zip archive file from anyone and thus, no one will be able to access it. In this article, we are going to show you how you can password protect zip files on your Mac and some other operating system.

Part 1: Why is it Important to Password Protect Zip Files

There are some reasons as to why you should password protect your zip files. And here are some of the main reasons that you should consider.

Reason #1: It Provides Other Level of Security For Those Sensitive Data


If you are actually archiving some data then you do not want other people to see, then you can have it password protected. That is why having a password protect on your zip files is very important for your privacy.

Reason #2: It Protects Files During Transfer

Usually, you use zip files if you would want to send out a document to other people through email or if you would want to upload it to a certain website. Keep in mind that sending out sensitive data using your email is not a 100% secure that is why adding a password to it can be a great idea.

Reason #3: It Decreases The Chance of Unauthorized People on Accessing Them

Once that you have to make a password protect zip file, then there will be no chance that other people will be able to access it. Even if you have accidentally sent them to the wrong person, your file will still be safe. This is a must for those files that are considered to be top secret.
Also, you will be able to protect your privacy and at the same time, the file that you are trying to work on. Most especially if these files are highly sensitive.
Now, these are the reasons that you might want to consider as to why you should password protect the zip files that you have on your Mac. Make this as your priority and everything will be safe. And that you will no longer have to face deeper problems when the person have accessed your zip file.

Part 2: How to Password Protect a Zip from Mac Using Command Line

If you know about the command line, the syntax for the encrypted zip command is like this:
zip -e [archive] [file].
And if you are going to encrypting two or more than zip files on your Mac using a password, the syntax would be like this:
Zip -er [archives] [folder]
However, if you are not familiar with the things that we have mentioned above, then you can go ahead and read on them for you to know how you can make a zip archive that is encrypted using a password. The encrypted zip files will be able to maintain password protection through any platforms.
This means that you will have the capability of sending a protected file to any Windows user. And before they can open it, they will be needing to key in the password for them to be able to view the content.

Part 3: Setting a Zip Password on Mac

Now, for you to be able to make a password protect archives, here are the steps that you will be needing to follow.

  1. Go ahead and open the Terminal application on your Mac. And then choose Utilities Folder.
  2. After that, go ahead and enter the following command: zip -er archivename.zip filetoprotect.txt
  3. Once that you are done with that, go ahead and enter your password and have them verified. You also have to keep in mind that the resulting archive will be named “archivename.zip” and will now be encrypted with a password. And the files that are encrypted “filetoprotect.txt” will be accessible without having the password.

In this case, if you would want to compress certain multiple files within a folder, then you might be needing to have it modified first the command like this:
Zip -er archive.zip /path/to/directory/

Part 4: How to Open A Password Protected Zip on Mac

Even if you have created a password protected using the command line, it is not necessary to unzip the file using Terminal. This can be expanded by using the Finder on your Mac. All you have to do is double-click on the file and then enter your password. Doing so will then decompress your files. And aside from that, you can also have these files decompressed using the command line:

Unzip filename.zip

Now, here are some cases wherein you need to have the password protect zip archives.

• Password protecting a certain file or a directory.

Files

• If you would want to send out a sensitive data and some encrypted file to an unencrypted network.

• If you would want to email a file that is confidential to a certain Windows user.

• If you would want to add another layer of security to a hidden folder.

• If you would want to protect your very own backups that are outside the Time Machine.

Part 5: Other Ways to Password Protect Your Zip File on Mac

Aside from what we have mentioned above, there is also another way for you to be able to make a Zip file from your Finder. However, there is no way that you can actually have it encrypted using the graphical interface. The zip command that it is using includes in your Mac does not actually have the way for you to encrypt zip files without having to use a third-party application.
Because of this, we have the Keka, which seems to be one of the most useful file compression and decompressing application that you can have for your Mac. However, Keka does not actually use AES for you to encrypt your zip files by default. What you need to do is to get the beta version of Keka for you to be able to do this. Or you can also use the standard version and make encrypted 7z files. All you have to do is to follow the guide below.

  1. Go ahead and launch Keka on your Mac.
  2. After that, go ahead and chose 7z and then enter the desired password on your archive.
  3. Once that you are done with the password, go ahead and drag and drop one or more files that you would want to compress towards the Keka window. They will then be able to compress into 7z file encrypted with the password that you have just entered.

Always remember what your password is because you will be needing that for you to access the file. And that is actually how you can password protect zip files on your Mac.

Part 6: Password Protecting A Zip File on Other Operating System

The OS X is not the only one that is capable of password protecting a zip file, but so as with some other operating system. Here are some of them.

1. Windows – 7-Zip

The Windows operating system actually has a built-in way for you to be able to make a zip file. Some even offer to password protect and encrypt the zip files that you have. Now if you would want to password protect your zip files, then the 7-Zip is recommended for you.
Using the 7-Zip, you will be able to choose some files in your File Explorer or from your Windows Explorer windows. And after that, go ahead and right-click on them and then choose 7-Zip. After that, go ahead and choose to add to the archive. Here all you have to make sure is that you have selected the “Add to archive” option. This way, you will be able to set a password that you want.
The 7-Zip also lets you create a 7z archive by default. Or you can also have the option to choose Zip. However, if you do not want to go with zipping, then you have to make sure that you have selected the AES-256 encryption method. And then, go ahead and enter your password and then click on the “OK” button for you to make your encrypted archive file.

2. Linux – File Roller with p7zip-full

The standard Archive Manager or the file-roller that comes with the Ubuntu and some other GNOME-based desktop actually do not have an option for you to make password protect zip files. That is why it is all thanks to the File Roller because you will be able to use it for you to be able to make a 7z archives.
Now, for you to enable this, the first thing that you need to do is to install the p7zip-full package. Once that you already have that, then you can make encrypted 7z files which can come directly from the File Roller window. You can also choose some files under the file manager window. And once you do, go ahead and right-click on them and then choose “Compress”. Or you can also launch the Archive Manager application and use it for you to make new archives.
If you are already in the Compress window, you have to make sure that the 7z archive format is selected. Then go ahead and click on the Other Options header and enter your desired password. The password that you are going to make will also be used to unlock the archive in a later time.
Aside from what we have mentioned, there are still a lot of different software programs that you can use for you to be able to make a password protected zip files. But whatever you want to use, you always have to make sure that it is using secure encryption. The problem that we are dealing with Zip files are not fully theoretical.
You must keep in your mind that the web is actually full of tools that you can use for recovering a certain password protected zip file. That is why you have to be 100% sure that you can trust that certain application. You can actually base on the rating of the application that you are trying to get. You can also base it on the comment section of application if there are any bogus activities happened to them when they try to use the program.
You must ensure that everything that you are using is actually safe. Because if not, it will be useless that you have password protected your zip files because other people will be able to just easily hack it and have the files that you have. If this happens, then this would be a danger to you because they might remove all the data that it contains or that they can easily spread it on the web. Another possible thing that could happen is that they can give it to the wrong person.

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Part 7: Conclusion

As you can see, doing a password protect zip files on your Mac is not that complicated as it sounds. All you need to have is the knowledge and the right tool that you can use. You also have the option to just merely use your Mac to make a password protect zip files on your Mac or you can also use a third-party application.
As what we have shown you, there are some applications that you can actually use. This will now depend on you if you would want to use them or not. You just have to keep in mind that having a password protect is one of the best things that you can do to your zip files if you would want to keep it confidential at all times. This way, no one will be able to access it but you.

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