How to Use Password Protection on Files and Folders

1. Open the ‘Applications’ folder
2. Open the ‘Utilities’ folder
3. Open ‘Disk Utility’
4. Click on ‘File’
5. Select ‘Image from Folder’ under ‘New Image’
6. Select the folder you wish to protect and click ‘Open’
7. Click on the ‘Image Format’ option menu and select ‘read/write’
8. Click on the ‘Encryption’ menu and select the desired encryption algorithm
9. Enter the desired password, verify it, and click ‘Choose’
10. Name the locked disk image and click ‘Save’
11. When the operation completes, click ‘Done’

After all the steps, the folder is then turned into a password-protected image file with a DMG extension. When you open the file, it will open the way a disk normally would, meaning that you can add new documents to your heart’s content before ejecting it.

How to password protect files and folders on Windows

Windows users are not as lucky since there isn’t a direct way to password-protect files or folders. There are, however, a few workarounds that you can do without having to pay a dime.

Password protect files by creating a small program

One of the ways to protect folders with a password is by creating a small program yourself that can then be executed through the Windows commands. Laptop Mag has a thorough step-by-step guide on how to do this and, if you follow the instructions carefully, you won’t have any problems creating the program yourself. However, take into account that it isn’t a bullet-proof solution and can be reverse engineered by someone who understands the process.

Password protect files on Windows through encrypting ThemEncryption

Windows Pro users have the functionality to encrypt files and folders. To do so, they need to:

1. Right-click on the file (or folder) you want to encrypt
2. Select ‘Properties’
3. Click on the advanced button under the ‘General’ tab
4. Check the box ‘Encrypt contents to secure data’
5. Press ‘OK’
6. Click ‘Apply’

After following these steps, everything inside the folder will be encrypted using your account username and password. However, this is far from perfect. Although other accounts using the computer won’t be able to open the encrypted files, anyone that has access to your profile and logs in with your account can open the files with no issues.

Password protect files by zipping them