Ever wanted to keep your sensitive files and documents safe and secure? One way to achieve this is to protect your ZIP files with a password before saving or sharing them with someone. In this article, we will show you how to password protect ZIP files on Windows 11 and 10.
Protecting a ZIP file with a password is a great way to stay safe and hide your files from others who may have access to your computer. Otherwise, anyone can easily unzip the file on Windows. That said, let’s start with the article.
Method 1: How to lock a ZIP file using the Windows Encrypted File System (EFS)
Windows natively provides an encryption feature that helps protect your files and folders, including ZIP files, on your Windows PC. However, you must have a Windows Pro, Education, or Enterprise edition for this method to work. With that said, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Go to the file or folder you want to ZIP secure, right click on it and select ‘Show more options’ in the context menu.
Step 2: From the menu, select Send To and click on the ‘Zipped folder’ option.
This will create a ZIP folder at the exact location of your original folder.
Step 3: Now right click on the ZIP folder you want to protect and from the context menu select Properties.
Step 4: In the Properties window, select Advanced.
Step 5: In the Advanced Properties window, check ‘Encrypt content for data security’ and click OK.
Step 6: In the Encryption Warning window, select ‘Encrypt files and file’s parent directory (recommended)’ or ‘Encrypt files only’ and click OK.
Step 7: Now click and save the decryption key from the pop-up message.
Note: If this key is lost, there is no way to decrypt the file or folder and you can never view the contents of the file or folder.
That’s it. You have locked ZIP files and folders on your Windows machine. Note that this free Windows method to lock a ZIP file is not designed to send the file but rather to protect the file in a single location.
If the steps above and saving the decryption key are too complicated, or you are running on an unactivated Windows Home machine or looking for some advanced features, move on to the following method.
Method 2: Add a password to your ZIP file using 7-Zip
7-Zip remains an efficient and widely used archiver, offering exceptional compression and support for many formats, while remaining completely free and open source. Follow the instructions below.
Step 1: First, download and install the 7-Zip program on your Windows system.
Once you’ve installed and finished, move on to the next step.
Step 2: Select the files you want to add to the ZIP archive, right click on any file and select ‘Show more options’.
Step 3: From the context menu, select 7-Zip and select ‘Add to archive.’
Step 4: In the ‘Add to Storage’ window, enter the password you want to use in the Encryption section and re-enter the password.
Step 5: Open the drop-down menu next to Encryption method, select AES-256 and click OK.
Tip: The AES-256 encryption method is so secure that even the US government uses it to protect confidential information.
With this, 7-Zip will create a password protected Zip archive in the same folder you selected the files from. You will be asked for a password when this file is shared.
That said, if you are compressing a larger file, 7-Zip may slow you down and may also limit the use of some advanced features. In this case, the next method can be of great help to you.
Also read: 5 best tools to extract RAR files on Windows 11
Method 3: Encrypt ZIP Archive with WinRAR
WinRAR is another popular tool with a good user interface, better compression speed, and some advanced features, such as creating self-extracting archives and repairing corrupted archives, which can be useful. useful for some users.
On the other hand, the only downside of WinRAR is that it only supports a limited number of formats when compared to 7-Zip. With that said, follow the steps mentioned below.
Step 1: First, download and install the WinRAR program on your Windows machine.
Once you’ve installed and finished, move on to the next step.
Step 2: Select the files you want to add to the ZIP archive, right click on any file and select ‘Add to Archive’ from the context menu.
Step 3: In the ‘Archive name and parameters’ window, click Set password.
Step 4: Select the Enter Password field and enter your password. Enter the same password in the ‘Re-enter password for verification’ field and click OK.
Note: Alternatively, you can also encode the filename.
Step 5: In the “Archive with password” window, choose the Archive format as ZIP and click OK.
There you have it. WinRAR will create a new ZIP archive that, when shared, will ask for a password to unzip the file.
If you have any questions that we missed in the article, check out the FAQ section below.
FAQ about password protecting ZIP files on Windows
1. Are ZIP files automatically encrypted?
ZIP files are not automatically encrypted. However, you can encrypt the contents of a ZIP file with a password. This can be the right way to protect sensitive files or data that you don’t want others to easily access.
2. What password algorithm do ZIP files use?
ZIP files use the ZipCrypto password algorithm. However, it should be noted that this algorithm is relatively weak. Therefore, we recommend using AES encryption algorithm when encrypting ZIP files.
3. What are the risks when opening a ZIP file?
ZIP files may contain malware or viruses that can infect your computer or device. Cybercriminals can also use ZIP files to send phishing emails or spam messages. In addition, opening ZIP files from unknown or untrusted sources can lead to the installation of unwanted software or the theft of sensitive information.
ZIP Lock your files and folders
Whether sharing important documents with colleagues or storing personal information on your computer, adding a password to your ZIP file can provide an extra layer of security and peace of mind. Now that you know how to password protect ZIP files on Windows 11 and 10, you can quickly and efficiently keep your sensitive data safe from prying eyes.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
