You should now see your file in the center of the WinZip program.

Once this is done, a new popup should appear labeled 'Add Complete' accompanied by a breakdown of your file's size before and after zipping. When you are satisfied with the password, click the OK button. On the popup, you will find two fields to input your password the first to select the password you want, the second to confirm that the password is the same both times. If done correctly, you should see a new popup appear labeled 'Encrypt' as the file zips (before this, you may get a caution message talking about the encryption used here, but you can just click OK). This can be done by clicking and dragging a file from your desktop or other folders into the WinZip program screen or by navigating to the file you want to encrypt through the WinZip program's 'Files' section in the lower left side. Click the switch next to it so that it is set to the On position.Īfter that, you just need to find the file you wish to zip. The first option below that should have a lock symbol and the word 'Encrypt' beside it. Next, click on the 'Create/Share' option in the top left area.Īlong the right side of the program, there should now be an 'Actions' section. If you want to password protect a zip file in Windows 10, start by opening the WinZip program that you used to create the zip file in the first place. Anyone who has the file will be unable to open it without the password, putting an extra layer of security between your valuable data and anyone who might get their hands on it. Security needs vary wildly from person to person, but if you're someone who values their privacy, a password on a zip file is probably the most basic level of security you can take with them. To put it simply, you might password-enable a zip file for the same reason you put a password on anything else - so people can't look inside. Why should you password-enable your zip file?

Here's how to add a password to a zip file in a few easy steps. If that's the case, it's worth keeping your private things private with a password. But not all the zip files you have are your old papers from history class some might even be pretty important.

Rather than taking up gigabytes of space on your hard drive, you can transform that data into a zip file worth only megabytes of space. Zip files are an easy way to archive information without the loss of quality that's usually associated with compression.

7zip add password