Creating a locked, password
protected folder in Mac OS X is fairly simple. You don’t need to
download any third party programs or software, and everything that you
need is built into Mac OS X. Nearly any type of file can be password
protected, or placed into a folder which can be password protected.
Want to learn how to create a secured
folder in Windows?
To get started, find the folder on your computer that you would like
to protect. For our example, the folder will be titled “Online-Tech-Tips
Secret Stash,” located on the desktop. Of course, also make sure that
the specific files that you want to protect are inside the folder. We
will use a simple image file as an example for this tutorial.
Next, open up Disk Utility using the path
Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
With the Disk Utility window open and active, select
File > New > Disk Image From Folder from the top Mac OS X navigation bar. This will launch the
Select Folder to Image window. Navigate to the folder that you want to password protect and click the
Image button.
You will now be presented with a couple of additional options for
saving the Image. Enter a file name for your locked folder, and also be
sure to
set image format to read/write and
encryption to 128-bit AES encryption (recommended). Click the
Save button to save the image file.
You will now need to
enter a password and verify the
password in order to create the locked folder. It is recommended that
you use a password of mixed characters for maximum password strength,
and that you
uncheck the option Remember password in my keychain. Once you have finished creating your password, click the
OK button.
Once you have completed this step, the new .dmg image file will be
saved to your chosen location. Please note, that the original folder
will still remain on your computer. The .dmg Image is simply an
encrypted, password protected copy of the file. So, you may want to move
the original folder to the trash bin and delete it.
Your locked folder is located within the .dmg Image file. So, to access it, start by double clicking the .dmg file.
Upon doing so, you will immediately be prompted for the password.
Without the password, the .dmg file and contained folder and contents
cannot be accessed.
Enter your password and click the
OK button. Again,
you want to make sure that Remember password in my keychain is not
checked. Upon gaining access, Finder will mount the .dmg within Mac OS
X. Double clicking it grants you access to your encrypted folder.
That’s all there is to it. By setting the permissions as read/write
when creating the password protected archive, you are able to not only
access your encrypted files, but also edit them as well. This is the
simplest way that I have found to password protect files and folders on a
Mac
Post a Comment