Step by Step Guide to Password Protect Folders on Mac

If you are someone who shares your personal computer with your family or friends, then you may want to protect some very personal files from anyone accessing your system. For this purpose, Password Protect Folders on Mac is crucial. Also, if your organization uses Cloud, then it is common that you would require sharing files to third-party resources. Password protection becomes extremely important in this case too.

Using password protection means restricting access to any folder by protecting it with a password. In simpler words, you can open any folder with password protection only after entering the valid password. It increases security for your files and prevents access by any unintended sources. It can apply to both files and folders. If you’re using a Mac, you’d know you cannot encrypt data on your device, but you can password protect the folders. In this article, we will look in detail at how to password protect folder in mac.

Password Protect Folders on Mac

Any folder or file in your MacBook can be password protected by following the steps below. 

1. Open the Application folder by clicking on Command + Shift + A.
2. You will find the ‘Utilities’ folder.
3. Now, open the ‘Disk Utility’.
4. Click on File and select the ‘New Image’ option.
5. Under New Image, you will find various options. Among those, select ‘Image from folder’
6. Choose the file which you want to password protect and click ‘Open’.
7. In the window that pops-up, choose the relevant Encryption Type and Image Format.
8. Now, you will be asked to type a password and verify it. Please enter a valid password and re-enter it to verify.
9. Click ‘Choose’.
10. In the consecutive window, give a name for the file and click on ‘Save’.
11. The folder will be created. Click on ‘Done’.

Password Protect Folders on Mac is done, and when you try to open the respected folder, it will prompt you to enter a password.

If you want, you can delete the old folder. Make sure you don’t delete the .DMG file.

Password Protect Folders on Mac using Encrypto

Encrypto is a third-party application available in the Mac app store for encryption. It is a very useful application for encryption, decryption and it ensures protection to files using AES-256 encryption. By using a strong password that no one else but you can decipher, it creates incredibly secure encryption for your folder. 

Steps to mac password protect folders using Encrypto –

1. To begin with, go to the App Store from your device and install Encrypto.
2. From your device, open the installed application.
3. Drag and drop the folder you want to password protect into Encrypto.
4. Now, enter a strong password of your choice and a hint that will help you recall the password in the future if you forget it.
5. Once done, click on Encrypt.
6. Once it is encrypted, click on Save As to save the file in the selected destination or click on Share to share the file to dropbox, mail, etc.
7. To open this file, go to the destination, double-click it and enter the password, then click on Decrypt.

Password Protect Folders on Mac for PDF Files

Do you know you can password the pdf files from the Preview app? Let us see how.

1. Open the Preview app and the pdf file you want to password-protect.
2. Select File -> Export.
3. In the dialog box that opens, check the Encrypt checkbox.
4. Enter a password and verify the entered password.
5. Click on Save.

This method not just works for pdf files but for other file types as well. You can convert any file type to pdf by simply choosing File -> Export to pdf from Preview.

Mac Password Protect Folders For Pages, Keynote, And Number Files

In this section, we will see how to protect a Keynote, Pages, or Pages document. The steps are identical for all these documents.

1. Open Pages/Number/Keynote.
2. Go to File and select Set Password.
3. A new dialog box opens where you must enter a password and verify it.
4. Enter a hint that will remind you of your password when you forget it.
5. Note–if you’re using the Keychain app, check the ‘Remember this Password in the Keychain’ checkbox and click on Set Password.
6. You can also change the entered password or remove the password protection anytime by going to File -> Change Password.

BetterZip

This is an alternative app to Password Protect Folders on Mac. Apart from password-protecting your files, you can also use it as a zipping tool to compress and zip your files to share them comfortably with others. By compressing, shrinks the size of your folders or files and makes leisure space available in your device. Now, BetterZip automatically protects all these compressed files or folders with AES-256 encryption. It supports different formats like 7-zip, RAR, ISO, and Zip. It has a default password generator tool that suggests a strong password to protect your files. To enable this, install BetterZip and choose the Strong (AES-256) Encryption method and click on Save.

Link – https://macitbetter.com/

Password Protect Folders on Mac using WINRAR

WINRAR is a well-known compression app that also helps in password-protecting your files. 

1. Download and install WINRAR from https://www.win-rar.com/download.html?&L=0
2. Once the installation is complete, choose the folder which you want to protect with a password. 
3. Now right-click on it and choose the option Add to Archive.
4. Now, choose ZIP from the list of archive formats available.
5. Click on Set Password and enter a suitable password.

Conclusion:

The primary aim of this article is not only to educate you on different ways to Password Protect Folders on Mac but also to make you understand the importance of protecting your files with a password. In today’s world full of hackers and digital frauds, it is extremely important to protect your sensitive information from others. It also protects your files during data sources by only allowing the targeted audience from accessing the files. Setting up a strong password that makes it difficult for any third person or both to guess is equally important.