Of course, encrypting zip files on Mac can be pretty confusing if you've never done it before. Are you struggling to password-protect your zip file on your Mac? Here's everything you need to know about encrypting zip files on a Mac.
Zip and encrypt files on your Mac
Zipping offers a quick and easy way to compress files and folders down to a much smaller size without losing any quality. It's a fairly simple process; all you have to do is select the files you want to bundle and right-click. But you may have a group of files that you want to zip and encrypt for business or financial reasons, which is where things get a bit complicated.
An encrypted zip file is simply a compressed file that's also password protected. You want to encrypt a zip file if you don't want just anyone to open it. Encrypting a zip file locks down the archive so that only people with the password can view its contents. While zipping and unzipping files is incredibly easy, creating an encrypted zip file takes a little more effort.
When it comes to encrypting compressed files on MacOS, there are two ways to go about it. You can encrypt compressed files on your Mac without an additional program or application, but there's a caveat. You have to enter the commands manually into your computer via Terminal.
Using Terminal can be pretty intimidating, especially if you have not used the app before. No need to worry though, here's a step-by-step guide on how to use Terminal to password-protect compressed files on your Mac.
Terminal is a great tool for compressing and password-protecting files and folders on MacOS. However, Terminal is a bit convoluted, especially for first-time users. Using a third-party app such as WinZip is a much better option for most users in terms of ease of use and capability.
We often compress or ZIP files on Mac to save space, but we should also take more care in what we're storing. Chances are you're compressing files that hold sensitive information. Zipping files is a great method for making the data inside more difficult to access, but that compression doesn't prevent prying eyes from taking a look.
There's a simple way to zip and password protect folders and files via Terminal. It takes some unique commands, but it's the most straightforward method to password protect ZIP file and folders on Mac. Here's how it's done:
That's all it takes! You'll now see a compressed file on your desktop. Double-clicking the file or folder to open it will prompt you for the password you typed into Terminal, so be sure to keep your passwords in a safe location.
Terminal is a great option for zipping and encrypting one file or folder, but it's not great for multiple compressions. You can enter multiple filenames or folder names after the 'zip -er' command, but an errant keystroke or mistyped filename will render the process useless.
BetterZip works via a structure it appropriately calls archives, which are projects for compressing and encrypting backups of your files and folders. You can add as many files or folders to an archive as you like, and choose where you'd like your archive saved after it's compressed.
Where BetterZip stands apart is it allows you the option to edit files within an archive. If the app detects you actually made any changes to a document, it offers you the option to update (re-compress) your archive. You can also search within archives.
When it comes to encryption, BetterZip is also better than the alternatives for compressed files. When you create passwords for zipped files archived in BetterZip, it saves those passwords for you in its password manager. When you attempt to open an encrypted file or folder in betterZip, it will attempt to use the saved passwords in its password manager. This helps you create secure passwords others can't possibly guess, but also helps make it easy to edit or view files as you won't have to remember passwords or deal with external password managers.
Archiver has a really clean drag and drop interface that allows you to drag any file or folder onto its app window, then press a single button to create a zipped archive of your documents. It also supports compressing multiple files or folders, and will compress them individually in a batch process.
There are a few key ways to open a password protected file on your Mac. If you know the password and just need to view a file, double-clicking it and entering the password will open the file up and uncompress it.
Double-clicking a folder or file and Terminal are both destructive to your compression, meaning the encrypted file is unzipped after you open it. BetterZip doesn't disturb your folder or file's compression. The app allows you to view and edit files within a zipped folder or zipped files themselves. So long as you use BetterZip, you can perform many functions without disturbing the compression, and the app has a 'save' feature if you do edit documents.
Zipping and encrypting files or folders on your Mac is important. It's one of the best way to safeguard important documents you won't need to access often, and sensitive personal information that can be tucked away on an external drive. Photos, tax documents, personal files, and other such items are perfect candidates for encryption on Mac.
Archiver and BetterZip are two great apps that do a sensational job of encrypting and compressing files in a wide array of formats. Power users may find BetterZip's ease of use for accessing zipped files very attractive, while others may appreciate Archiver's drag and drop interface and simplicity.
Either way, we think these apps are far better options than Terminal, which is fussy and linear. One wrong keystroke in Terminal can cause issues, so it's better to have a visual interface via an app when dealing with sensitive files or folders.
If you deal with large or multiple files at a go, you may have to compress them to a zip file to simplify handling and reduce the space they occupy. Sometimes the information contained in such a zip file is confidential, meaning that you should learn how to password protect a zip file Mac. This article is helpful in understanding how to encrypt a zip file on Mac, so that you can keep your information from preying eyes.
Dealing with sensitive information is normal, but it is important to take extra caution. Since you would not want your data to land in the wrong hands, it is important that you know how to compress it and then make it secure.
You should proceed with the process of how to password protect a zip file on a Mac, by choosing the file you want to encrypt. Go to File and then New Image. Then, choose Image from Folder from the submenu displayed.
Wondershare PDFelement - PDF Editor is considered to be the best PDF tool in the market because it is unique and benefits users in multiple ways. It has an intuitive user interface that allows you to digitize your paper work at any moment using the toolbar, menu bar, work area and navigation panel.
Protecting your zip files is essential when you have sensitive information that could be used to harm you. The process is easy and you just have to be creative in making a strong password. For further file management in your Mac, you should rely on PDFelement because it never disappoints.
Instead of raising prices, manufacturers like Apple have simple cut storage capacity. Where older devices might have had 500GB or even a terabyte worth of storage, your new MacBook Pro may only have 256GB in its place.
Zipping, or compressing, a file makes it easy to save some space on your hard drive, and also makes it easy to share those documents and folders with someone through a file sharing service such as Dropbox or Google Drive.
Zipping your files can compress them down to a much smaller size, saving up to 80 percent of the storage room while maintaining the original quality of the information once the file has been decompressed.
Though modern operating systems can view the contents of a zipped folder without having to unzip or decompress the files inside, you typically need to decompress the file before you can use any of the zipped files.
While there is not anything inherently dangerous about zip files on their own, they can often be used for malicious practices, loaded with dangerous content by someone who intends to cause harm to your computer.
For the most part, receiving a zip file from someone you know or that contains files you know would be too large to send through normal email channels is completely normal. The same applies to downloading files from most websites; installers, for example, will often use zip files if there is a lot to contain into one downloadable folder in order to save download time and bandwidth. Likewise, sites like Google Photos will automatically compress your files into a zip folder in order to save time when downloading more than a single photo.
A zip bomb will cause your computer to crash and your hard drive to become unresponsive. If you recognize the information and content within the source, you are free to proceed with extracting the zipped file. You can also run the file through your antivirus software.
Though computers running older versions of Windows used to need a third-party tool in order to zip and unzip files, computers running macOS have had the option to compress and decompress files for years built right into the operating system, making it easy to zip and unzip files as needed.
Though macOS can create a password-protected compressed file without the aid of an additional program or application, you will have to use Terminal on your Mac to enter commands manually into your computer.
Alternatively, you can use third-party software such as WinZip (which, despite the name, does have a Mac version) or Keka, an open-source alternative to WinZip, to place a password on your compressed files without having to use the command line.
WinZip is one of the most popular utilities in the world for zipping and unzipping files. Versions are available for most operating systems. Though technically considered shareware, WinZip does contain a free trial for anyone who uses the program non-commercially, meaning regular consumers can use the application without paying for it so long as they put up with the warning that appears when they open the application. 2ff7e9595c
Comments