How to set a password for an archive. How to archive a file or folder with a password How to archive a file with a password

WinRAR allows you to create both standard zip archives and your own unique format (rar). The process for archiving and setting a password is almost identical; rar, however, has an additional option available, which will be discussed below.

Setting a password for a new archive

Open WinRAR and click the "Add" button.

Select the archive format, then click the “Set Password” button:

Enter it twice (I advise you to activate the “Show password” item, because before clicking “OK” it is better to check if you have made a typo. Otherwise, you will not be able to open the archive yourself):

If desired, you can enable the “Encrypt file names” option: if such an archive is opened, then no one will even be able to read the names of folders and documents without entering a password. However, this option is only available for .rar archives.

Click OK. The password-protected archive is ready.

Now, when you try to extract its contents, the following window will appear:

If the archive has already been created and needs to be protected

In such a situation, you need to add any file to it, which you can then safely delete.

The procedure is the same: open the archive, click “Add”, selecting a file to add, and at this moment a window similar to creating a new archive will appear again. Press the password button again and you can set the protection.

Conclusion

The only drawback of WinRAR is that the program is paid. Therefore, it makes sense to use it only if you need to have an archive in .rar format. When working with other options (zip and others), free analogues like 7Zip are perfect, as they also allow you to set a password and reliably protect your content.

An archive of files is created mainly to compress them and increase free space on the hard drive, but sometimes an archive is created because it is possible to set a password on it to protect information. This can be done with many archiver programs, but we will next look at how to set a password for a WinRAR archive.

The program allows you to set a password for a WinRAR archive only at the time of creating the archive. But if the archive file is very large, the creation of which took quite a lot of time to compress the information, you can put a password on the rar archive without repacking it. We will look at how to do this at the end of the article.

To set a password for an archive using WinRAR, you need to open the archiver, find the files or folders to be archived, and click on the menu item "Add" or in Windows Explorer, after right-clicking on the archived files, select the menu item "Add to archive…".

In the window that appears "Archive name and parameters" press the button at the bottom right "Set password…".

When entering a password, you can check the box "Display password as I type" to see the entered password instead of dots, and also enable the function "Encrypt file names", which will not allow you to read the file names in the archive before unpacking it.

After entering the password, click "Ok" in the previous window and the archive with the password will begin to be created. Now, when you try to open the archive, a window will appear asking you to enter a password.

Now let's see how to set a password for an existing archive. As mentioned earlier, the WinRAR archiver does not offer to set a password for an existing archive, so this archive must be re-archived with special parameters. You need to do the same as when setting a password when creating an archive, but in the window settings "Archive name and parameters" in the column "Compression method:" you need to install "Without compression". This will allow you to avoid wasting time on re-compressing the information, and the file will simply be rewritten with a password set on it.

WinRAR program

WinRAR- a brilliantly executed program. This is not only the best of archivers, but also generally an example of a user-friendly attitude. Working with the program, especially its latest versions, is an aesthetic pleasure.

The WinRAR program can be download on its manufacturer's website: www.rarsoft.com. Like other archivers, it belongs to shareware. Its distribution version can often be found in collections of utility software.

This version differs from the previous ones; well, you can find out in detail here: http://www.rarsoft.com/rarnew.htm. The latest versions of WinRAR are also characterized by the fact that, like WinZip, they are integrated with Windows Explorer. This provides a convenient opportunity to work through context menus.

The program is supplied as a single executable file wrar420ru.exe and is installed in the usual manner. During installation, a dialog box opens that allows you to specify installation parameters. In particular, here you can “link” the program with certain types of archive files - then when you double-click on their icons, the WinRAR program will automatically launch. Here you can specify where, when installing the program, its icons will be created.

It is important to understand that if you want to compress music files or photo and video files into an archive, the size of the archive will not change. Then the question arises - why is it necessary? archive edit files? The fact is that when archiving all files will be neatly packed into one file and protected when sent by mail (thereby saving

You from adding each file when downloading to your email for subsequent transfer). Everything will reach the recipient safe and sound.

Create WinRar archive with password It's actually not difficult. On any folder (which we want to password protect in Rar format), right-click and select add to archive. And go to the next window, in which we go to the tab - Advanced and click - Set password:

Next, be sure to check the box -> Encrypt file names:

Now you can create archives with a password, thanks to which the security of your files will be protected both in the office and at home. Remember, it will be able to protect your data - reliably. Do not lose your passwords; they may not be recovered and hacking is not possible.

Unpacking the received archive

As when describing the WinZip program, we will rely as much as possible on executing operations from the context menu, if possible without opening the program's working window. This approach is the most effective.

1. Place the resulting archive in the folder in which you would like to unpack it.

2. Open this folder and right-click on the file icon. In the context menu, select WinRAR -> Extract to current folder. Here's the parameter< имя папки >matches the name of the archive file. Thus, when unpacking a file, a folder of the same name is created, in which all extracted files are located.

P.S. New plugin - when copied - the link will not work, it is only relevant for this site.

In the free 7-Zip archiver, you can put a password on a folder, or a password on a file, to protect confidential data from strangers who can gain access to your computer. Using an archiver, an archive is created and a password is assigned to it.

Almost all computers contain data that is not intended for outsiders. Situations in which another person can gain access to a computer are possible at home and at work. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent others from gaining access to confidential information on your computer.

There are several ways to hide important information on a computer: hiding folders and files using operating system tools, using special programs that hide folders and files, using an archiver (a program that packs data into an archive), and setting a password on the created archive.

In this article I will tell you how to create an archive with a password in 7-Zip. Previously, I already told you how to set a password for an archive in the WinRAR program (link under this article). Unlike WinRAR, 7-Zip is a free archiver where you can set a password for a folder or file on any computer.

The method of creating an archive with a password is the fastest and easiest. An archiver is needed on any computer, and setting a password for an archive in 7-Zip is very easy. Another user will not be able to open the archive without knowing the archive password. Important data will be protected.

How to set a password for a folder or file in 7-Zip

The process of setting a password for an archive in 7-Zip is the same for a folder or file. An archive is created from a folder or from a file in the 7-Zip program, for which a password is set.

To hide data using the archiver, click on the folder or file. In the context menu that opens, select “7-Zip”, and then “Add to archive...”.

After this, the “Add to archive” window will open, in which you need to configure the creation of an archive with data that needs to be hidden from outsiders.

The basic program settings can be left as default. Pay attention to the archive name. If the name of the folder or file does not interest a stranger, then leave the default name. If the name reveals the contents of the archive, then change the name of the archive to something that does not reveal its contents.

In this example, I changed the name for the archive being created: “New Folder”, since the folder being archived is called “Secret Folder”, and this name attracts unnecessary attention.

In the “Encryption” section, activate the “Encrypt file names” item, and then in the “Enter password:” field, enter the password for the archive being created. In the “Repeat Password:” field, re-enter your password.

Please note that if you forget the archive password, you will not be able to open the archive on your computer. You will lose access to encrypted data. Therefore, come up with a complex password, but at the same time one that you will never forget.

After completing the settings, click on the “OK” button.

After this, delete the folder or file that was encrypted using the archiver. Your hidden data is stored in the archive; you will not be able to access the contents of the archive without knowing the password.

How to remove the password from a folder or file in 7-Zip

To gain access to a password-protected folder or file using the 7-Zip archiver, click on the appropriate archive. In the window that opens, enter the archive password. If the password is complex, activate the “Show password” item to check that the password is entered correctly. Next, click on the “OK” button.

In the 7-Zip archiver window, you will see the file or folder on which the password was set. To gain access, extract hidden data from the archive. To do this, click on the “Extract” button.

You can now use the file or folder again after extracting it from a password-protected archive.

Conclusions of the article

Using the free 7-Zip archiver, you can set a password for a folder, set a password for a file. The archive created in 7-Zip will have a password set to prevent unauthorized persons from accessing confidential data.

How to put a password on a folder in 7 Zip (video)

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. For some reason, there are no built-in tools in Windows that would allow you to block access to a folder for those who do not know the password to access it.

At the same time, this simplest method comes to mind for any user of this operating system. keep some of your data confidential- just put a password on the folder where the “hidden” documents (files or other directories) will be stored.

Well, really, what could be more logical than to password-protect access to a certain directory and put there everything that you would like to protect from prying eyes (spouse, children, hackers, competent authorities, etc.). There may be many goals, but the solution seems obvious - make a kind of safe out of any folder, the code for which only you will know (and how to come up with it, read the article).

How to set a password for a folder after archiving it

However, there are still no simple solutions to this problem (using tools built into Windows). More precisely, there are a number of methods that do not guarantee any confidentiality, but only provide “fool protection”. It doesn't make much sense to rely on them. In this same publication I want to focus on a way to make a safe of the highest security category from any catalog, but for this you will have to install an additional program in the OS.

It was originally built on open source and a priori () did not contain bookmarks that would allow developers to access your password-protected data. Unfortunately, the developers have now sold themselves to BitLocker, whose products are already closed source, which means your password folders can, if desired, be opened using backdoors. However, TrueCrypt can still be found and used for your purposes.

But first, I’ll give you an easier-to-use, but less reliable method (the competent authorities and specialists will be able to hack the directory, but your relatives and friends will not). It lies in the fact that the necessary the folder can be archived with a password, so that a person who does not know it would no longer be able to carry out the unzipping process.

You are all probably very familiar with archivers. Among them there are both paid and free versions. But in addition to its main functionality - creating archives to save disk space and speed up data transfer over the Internet, modern archivers allow you to encrypt archived data and protect it with passwords. It is this opportunity that we will take advantage of.

Let's try to archive a folder and put a password on it, first using the example of a free archiver (7-Zip), and then using the example of a paid one (WinRAR), which, however, is installed on almost all computers. I think that you have at least one of them, and if not, you can always install them by going to the official websites of the developers of these programs ().

How to archive and password protect a directory in 7-Zip

So, if you have an archiver installed on Windows 7-Zip, then in order to archive any folder (or a set of files and directories) in it, it will be enough to right-click on it and select “7-Zip” - “Add to archive” from the drop-down context menu:

As a result, you will see the archiving settings window, where, in addition to other settings, you can set a password to access this archive, or rather, encrypt the entire contents of the folder (while archiving it), and this code will be the key to decryption.

A feature of “archiving with a password” of directories via 7-Zip is that you can enter the created archive (folder) without entering a password, and when you try to open any file you will be required to enter it:

If you want to password-protect access not only to the files in this directory, but also prohibit viewing the contents of this folder without entering a password, then simply check the “Encrypt file names” box in the archiving settings window (second screenshot from here). After this, when you try to view the contents of the archive, a prompt to enter a password will pop up.

How to set a password when archiving a folder in WinRAR

You can also use the capabilities of the second of the archivers mentioned above to simultaneously archive and password protect a folder - WinRAR. As I already mentioned, it’s paid, but for some reason in RuNet they don’t really take it into account.

If WinRAR is already installed in Windows, then simply right-click on the directory where you want to set a password and select “Add to archive” from the context menu:

In the window that opens, go to the “Advanced” tab and click on the “Set password” button:

Here you will be asked to create and enter a password, which will become the key to your archived folder, and you can also check the “Encrypt file names” box so that no one can view the contents of the archive without entering the password (we already talked about this a little higher):

After that, click OK twice and try to enter the created archive using the password you created. If everything worked out, then you can delete the original folder, the contents of which need to be hidden from prying eyes. And as needed, you will simply log into this archived and password-protected folder. It's a little stressful to have to enter your password all the time, but security requires sacrifice. IMHO ()

How to put a strong password on a folder using TrueCrypt

As I mentioned just above, there are various programs that allow you to implement an idea that is so obvious to Windows users - to block access to a folder using a password. There are quite a few such programs (for example, Folder Lock, DirLock, Anvide Lock Folder, File lock, Lim LockFolder, etc.), but a user who understands computers will most likely be able to bypass them. Therefore, if you want to hide something from your household or work colleagues on your computer, then they will suit you just fine.

But often something more radical is required, when hacking a password-protected folder will require monstrous efforts and computing power, which will naturally deter most potential hackers. This type of tool includes the TrueCrypt program, which allows you to set a password not only for a directory, but even for the entire computer (to completely encrypt the system partition, if you need it).

I have already written in some detail about working with her:

Unfortunately, today the developers no longer release new versions of the program, because they switched to working in BitLocker (Microsoft), but you can download TrueCrypt one of the latest versions via this link. In any case, it works great for me.

Let me explain a little what “put a password on a folder” means in TrueCrypt, because this is somewhat different from the options discussed above. In this program, you create a container from any file that is on your computer and has just been created.

It will be very difficult to discover that it is a container for something, and besides, inside this container (actually a folder with files and other directories) you can create a hidden container, which certainly no one will guess about. Hackers very actively use this program to hide, for example, their correspondence, because it is difficult to even find corrupted (encrypted) information, not to mention hacking it.

So, this very container is encrypted and decrypted on the fly (you won’t even notice it) and you can work with it as with a regular directory (even more like with a portable hard drive or flash drive, because this password-protected folder is connected in Windows exactly as a new virtual disk).

That. it will be possible to copy something there, delete it, transfer it using standard operating system tools (via Explorer or, for example, Total Commander).

At the end of the work, you simply unmount the virtual disk, and no one will be able to access your data (who does not know the password). Wonderful thing.

For all the details of working with TrueCrypt for setting passwords on a flash drive, folder, or even the entire computer, see the links given just above. And remember that absolute protection does not exist (you can provide the password yourself under pressure), but among all other methods of data protection, this program is one of the most optimal options. IMHO.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site