Do you work on a shared computer, or do you often give others access to your computer? If this is the case with you, you must keep your data secure. When another user gets access to your computer, it is evident that your data is vulnerable to changes. It is, therefore, important to secure at least a few important files. Another reason to secure data is while sharing it with others. The need to password protect a ZIP file is while transferring data over the internet.
If you are unsure of how to password protect a ZIP file on your computer, follow the blog to find out how. Let’s begin with understanding the need for ZIP files and their security. Zip files are the archives of a single file or more in a compressed format with an extension .zip or .zipx. This is a popularly used format for transferring the data as it saves storage space and time. The download and upload of Zip files will often take much less time than the original file. It is therefore appreciated for its usage over the easy transfer over the internet and Bluetooth.
Protecting the files is an important aspect of the file transfer these days, as the infiltration number has increased. In case you worry about your files landing in the wrong hands, you can always make it password protected.
This is one of the ways to keep the data on the Zip files safe. To learn how to make a Zip file safe with the password, we need to follow the given methods-
How To Password Protect A Zip File and Folder
Method 1: Using Windows encryption-
To protect your zip file, you can use the method which is in-built in Windows 10.
Step 1: Right-click on the zip folder, and you will have to click on the Properties.
Step 2: Here, go to the Advanced button and click on it.
Step 3: Now mark the Encrypt content to secure the data option and click on Ok.
After this, click on Apply to let the changes take effect.
This method has its advantages over the PC, but it does not work to protect the files while the transfer. Also, this feature for encrypting files is only available for Windows Pro, Executive, and Education. Due to this procedure’s limitation for the PC users, we move on to our next method.
Method 2: Using 7-Zip to protect Zip file-
Since the above method lacks the safety feature for zip files while transferring them, we use another method. This will require you to use a software designated to secure the transfer of zip files. Follow the given steps to understand how to use the password protection on zip files in Windows.
Step 1: Downloads 7-Zip from here. It is an open-source project and, therefore, available for free.
Select the correct Windows version and get it for your computer.
Note: Go to Settings> System>About to learn about your operating system.
Step 2: Right-click on the selected folder, and you will see the option of 7-zip on the list. Click on it. Furthermore, options will be shown, and you need to select Add to archive.
This step will help you compress the file in the Archive format.
Step 3: Go to the encryption section and enter the password in the password field.
Step 4: Go to Encryption method and select AES-256, now click on Ok.
This is how you can easily password protect your zip files using 7-Zip.
Additional Tip –
Advanced System Optimizer is a great tool to help in improving the performance of the Windows PC. It comes with several security and optimization tools for your computer. To ensure the safety of the files, it comes with a unique feature called Secure Encryptor. You can use it to keep your files on the computer password protected. This is an excellent way to safekeep your essential documents in plain sight while working on shared computers.
Verdict-
We must ensure the safety of the data we transfer over the network and other means. One way is to password protect a Zip File to ensure only the user with the correct password gets access to the data on it. In this blog, we helped you understand how to password protect a Zip file in easy steps using 7-Zip. Another way to secure your files on the computer is through the use of the Advanced System Optimizer. Get it now for Windows 10, 8.1,8, 7, Vista and XP 32 bit and 64 bit) to keep your PC running at an improved speed.
We hope the article lets you know the easier way to protect Zip files. We would like to know your views on this post to make it more useful. Your suggestions and comments are welcome in the comment section below. Share the information with your friends and others by sharing the article on social media.
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