


A password is often the weakest link in encryption. That's why you should save the password using a password manager or memorize the password.Īnd also, you should use a strong password with at least 20 characters long. If you lose or forget the password, you will never be able to access the encrypted files or folders. How to password protect files and folders on Windows 10 using 7-Zipħ-Zip is a free open-source file archiver for Microsoft Windows. The steps on this page work for all types of files, such as documents, images, audio files, video files, and all other files.

Just like the cybersecurity engineer and hacker Elliot does in the tv series “Mr.Robot”. On this page, you will also find steps for encrypting and hiding files in audio files using DeepSound. This tutorial will show you step by step how to password protect files and folders on Windows 10. If you enter a wrong password or forgot the password, 7-Zip will throw an error since it cannot decrypt the file without the said password.Windows Android Linux Internet How to password protect files and folders on Windows 10 (4 ways) When you try to open or extract files, 7-Zip will ask for the password.Įnter the password and the file or folder will be extracted. You can see all the files and folders in the zip file. To access files from a password protected zip file, open the zip file with 7-Zip. If you want to, you can delete the original folder.Īfter creating a password protected zip file, you need the password you entered earlier to access files. Once the folder is zipped, you can see the zipped file in the same location as the original folder. Depending on the number of files and their size, it can take some to complete the zipping procedure.Ĩ. Click on the “Ok” button to start the zipping and encryption process. In my case, I’m choosing the AES-256 algorithm.ħ. If you want to, you can also change the encryption algorithm. Next, let all the defaults be as is and enter your password twice under the “Encryption” section. Select “Zip” from the Archive format dropdown menu.Ħ. By default, 7-Zip tries to compress files in 7z format. Right-click on the folder and select “7-Zip -> Add to archive” option.ĥ.
