How to create a zip file with password on mac

Our computers fill up with dozens of work documents, hundreds of photos of friends, spreadsheets full of personal information, health forms, financial paperwork, and so on.

If your computer is slowing down due to data overload, the best thing to do is to create zip files that can compress the size of many files, storing all the data in one. place and taking up less space on your Mac. Zip files are easy to move from folder to folder or transfer to others via email or file-sharing platforms, and are proven and reliable.

But unless you follow the steps to encrypt a zip file on a Mac, compressed files are not safe. That means anyone who gains access to your zip files, whether by intercepting an email or file transfer, hacking into your computer, or gaining physical access to your Mac, can open the zip file and thereby access dozens of or even hundreds of files inside.

Taking the minute or so to password protect a zip file on Mac is therefore a very good idea. So if you are wondering how to password protect a folder on Mac, you are in the right place.

Before you begin

Before we talk about password protection for a zip file, ask yourself this: is your entire computer as secure as it should be? Surely, if you’re concerned about encrypting a single zip file, you’ll also see the value in providing the highest level of protection for all data on your Mac.

To further protect your data, follow these steps:

1. Open MacKeeper and go to the ID Theft section Guard
2. Click Open to check the status of things on your Mac device
3. Now click Check for Violations
4. Review the list of any leaked personal records.
5. To ensure better data protection in real-time mode, finish by clicking Activate monitoring.

With MacKeeper’s ID Theft Guard protections in place, you can count on the safety of your personal data. If your data is ever breached and leaked, you’ll be instantly informed of the data breach so you can quickly get everything back on track.

Are compressed files safe? Not without encryption

Simply put, a zip file is like a storage container for other files and a “container” in which the other files are compressed. It means they take up less space on a computer, make an email attachment smaller, and can be uploaded to a portable drive more easily.

A zip file may seem more secure than an ordinary file, but it only offers as much security to the data within as an open door does. Anyone can simply open the door and walk through it, gaining access to whatever lies beyond. So a zip file might be great for saving space on your Mac, but it doesn’t add appreciable security for the many sensitive files stored inside. So, do your best to form a new healthy habit: create a zip file, then encrypt it with a password.

How to Create a Zip File on a Mac

To create a zip, it’s a good idea to move all the files you want to house in the new zip file into one folder together. For your convenience, you can prepare and organize files for zipping and password protection using the Finder function on your Mac. Just click Filein the top corner of the screen, then click New Finder Window and use the Finder window to get the files included.

Then just select all the files to compress them together, right-click and select: Compress # Items (the “#” will indicate the number of files selected). A zip file will be created and you can rename it however you like.

How to encrypt a zip file on a Mac using Terminal

So, you have your zip file ready? Okay, now let’s secure it with a password. First, to make things easier, move that new zip file to the desktop.

Now, to add the actual password, we’ll use Terminal window you can find there on your Mac. To find it, just press Command-Space, then type the word “Terminal” in the Featured Search.

It will open a window like this:

And yes, that might seem confusing, but don’t worry, just follow these steps exactly:

1. In the second line, after what will probably be your username (but regardless, do this after all the text) type the letters “cd desktop” and then press Enter/Return
2. Now type, exactly, although with your filename instead of YOUR FILENAME, of course “zip -er YOUR FILENAME.zip YOUR FILENAME”

3. You will then be prompted to enter a password, please enter it and note that you may not be able to see the characters it contains. are added as you do so Press Enter

4. Enter again ucce the password to confirm it and… voila!

Using Terminal to review an encrypted zip file

Terminal has a File Preview option that allows you to check the contents of an encrypted zip file without opening it. Doing this can be helpful in determining whether or not a zip file is safe to open, which is critical if you weren’t the creator of the zip file. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Open Terminal, again using Spotlight Finder and type “Terminal“
2. In Terminal, type the word “zipinfo ” and then add a space
3. Drag the zip file you want to review behind the word “zipinfo”, then press Enter

And that’s it! The files will be listed for you.

How to open a password protected zip file

To To open a password-protected zip file, simply click on it like you would any other, and when the box prompting for a password appears, type your password and press Enter. zip file will now open and unzip, l or it will allow access to all files as usual. Just keep in mind that once opened, those files are no longer safe, so make sure you know how to protect your privacy online using MacKeeper before reopening the locked folder.

Why Encryption it’s the best security solution for zip files

Now you know how to encrypt a file on Mac. And when you add password encryption to a zip file on a Mac, you’re securing all the files inside that file compressed at once. A file thus protected is much safer for transfer, long-term storage and sharing. And since compression and password protection are independent of the desktop operating system, you can send password-protected zip files to Windows users, Linux users, and other Mac users.

Just as you should always use MacKeeper’s ID Theft Guard to protect your confidential information from malicious action and misuse, you should always take an extra minute to secure a file. zip. It’s the perfect tool for better overall data protection, while there’s no harm that can come from it, and a lot of potential harm that’s prevented.

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