How To Create Encrypted Folder Mac

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It created an encrypted zip file that opened just fine. However, the encrypted file was saved in the top level of my User folder. Two questions:. Is there any way to create the encrypted-zipped file and have it land in the same location as the original file?. Can Windows users open the resulting encrypted-zipped file?

Do you have a Mac and ever wondered how to secure your most important files and folders so that no one can access them even if they have full access to your computer? Clean my mac 10 9 5.

  • Once inside, go under 'File' and select 'New'.Here, choose 'Disk Image From Folder' and browse for the preferred folder which you want to be encrypted. After choosing it, click 'Image' and a new menu will pop-up with three possible options: to read/write the image, only to read it or to encode it.
  • Take these steps as a guide. Open Disk Utility found in the Utilities folder (/Applications/Utilities). Click the New Image button, or choose New then Blank Disk Image from the Disk Utility File menu. Enter a name in the Save As: field.
  • This is essentially a SAVE File Dialog Box. The file naming operation is basically a two-step operation. First, create a name for the secure disk image file you are about to create.

Perhaps you share your Mac with someone else and don't want to create a whole new account for that person or you want to have your most vital information covered against possible theft.

For these and other similar scenarios, I'm going to show you how to create an encrypted folder on your Mac that you can actually lock with a password to secure it and take with you anywhere you want.

Here's how to do it:

Step 1: On your Mac open, Disk Utility (usually found in Applications > Utilities) and from the options at the top of the window, click on New Image.

Step 2: Name your encrypted folder on the Save As: field and then choose where you want to put it. Below that, choose the size you want your folder to be. Usually, 500 MB should be more than enough to store your most important files and documents. If you need more, just choose Custom from the drop-down menu.

Step 3: Additionally, choose your desired encryption. 128-bit should be good enough for most of you. If you want something even more secure (but slower), then go for the 256-bit encryption. Once you are done, click on Create. When prompted, introduce a password for your encrypted folder.

Important Note: If you want to keep the information in the folder absolutely private, make sure to UNCHECK the Remember password in my keychain option. This way the password will not auto-complete every time you access your encrypted folder.

Step 4: Your new encrypted folder will now be mounted on your desktop. Open it and store all you important files in it.

Step 5: Once you are done transferring your files, close the folder and eject it by either dragging it to the Trash or by right-clicking on it and choosing the Eject option. Be aware though, that once you eject the folder, you will need the password you assigned to it in order to access it again.

Additional Uses

One of the great aspects of this kind of encrypted folders is that they are very portable, and both its encryption and password features will still work even if you transfer them to an external USB drive. In fact, you could easily transfer the folder to a USB stick and even to your iPhone or other iOS device using any of the applications outlined in this post and carry your most important information with you at all times.

If you do, whenever you plug your USB stick or iOS device in USB mode to yours or any other Mac and try to access your folder, you will be required to introduce your password.

Additionally, you can place that folder in your Dropxbox account and access it from any other Mac with access to the web without you needing to carry a physical USB with you at all.

So there you go. Start creating those encrypted folders and securing your most important information!


The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Also See#encryption #security

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123456 is the most common email password.

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Do you want to password protect your sensitive Mac folder from unwanted access and prevent data loss? Lean how you can encrypt a folder on Mac using Disk Utility.

Using Disk Utility, when you format an internal or external volume, you can encrypt and protect the volume with a password.

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If you encrypt an internal disk, you must enter a password to access the disk and its information.

If you encrypt an external device, you must enter the password when you connect the device to your computer.

You can create an encrypted disk image from your specified folder directly. Here are five simple and easy steps to encrypt your folder on Mac.

How To Create Encrypted Folder Mac

How to encrypt folder in macOS

  1. Open up Disk Utility.
  2. Then, click on File > New > Disk Image From Folder.
  3. Select the folder you want to encrypt, and click Image.
  4. Choose ‘read/write' if you want your folder to be edit-able (if not, just choose another format), and choose ‘128-bit AES encryption'.
  5. Type in any password you desire, and very importantly, make sure the checkbox for ‘Remember password in my keychain' is NOT ticked, else it will defeat the whole purpose of encrypting your folder.

You're Done. A password-protected .dmg file will be created based on the folder you selected. Larger folders may take longer to encrypt. Once that is done, you can delete the original folder.

How to access encrypted disk image in macOS

To access the encrypted disk image, just double-click the .dmg file to mount it in the Finder and punch in the password whenever you try to access the folder.

Always uncheck the box saying 'Remember password in my keychain' to make sure it is always protected by passwords.

Password Protect Folder On Mac

After a disk image is mounted, you're able to access the folder like normal. Now, putting any files in the folder will put the file under encrypted protection too.

After you're done working with the folder and want it to be password protected again, just unmount the folder from Finder.

Important: If you encrypt an external drive, you can't connect it to an AirPort base station for Time Machine backups.

To encrypt and protect the volume with a password using Disk Utility, you must erase the volume first. If the volume contains files you want to save, be sure to copy them to another volume.

Password-Protect your Mac Folder with Optimal Performance

You could use Disk Utility to encrypt folder on your Mac. But it consumes resources and hits your Mac's performance as well you've to be very careful when you use Disk Utility, as it deals with your whole Mac mounting and data formatting, incorrect action may lead you to loss of your entire Mac data.

For most of us, it's overkill. But you should make sure that all sensitive or personal data stored on your Mac is encrypted.

File Folder Encryption Software

If you mainly use your Mac at home or in other mostly secure environments, Disk Utility may not be the ideal security solution.

Consider some of the other options we present in this article such as password protecting individual files or Folders using third-party app like Kruptos 2 Pro.

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Kruptos 2 Professionalfor the Mac is an easy to use file encryption program that uses 256-bit encryption to password protect your private files and prevent them from being modified, read or even accessed without the correct password.

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Using Kruptos 2 Pro, you can efficiently encrypt and decrypt selected files or folders in your Mac, where other not so important files and folders can remain unencrypted at the same time.

This app even allows you create in-app notes for securely writing down passwords, bank accounts, pin numbers, and any other sensitive information. Best external ssd for mac and pc. Mac os in order of release.

Kruptos 2 Pro seamlessly integrates with all major cloud providers such as Dropbox and iCloud, etc.

Best of all, you can download it free hereand give it a try. You'll be surprised about how simple its to encrypt a folder on your Mac.

How do you protect your f folders on your Mac? Do you use any other apps to secure your folder? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.





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