This is one of the most popular tools you can use to zip and protect your files on Windows 10. Note: There are many encryption tools in the market, but in this article, we’re going to use the top three. You’ll find the step-by-step guide on how to password-protect your zip files on Windows 10 using the best tools. So, if you’ve been worried about that, keep reading this article. However, you’ll need third-party solutions to password-protect zip files because you can’t do it by default on Windows 10. If you have Windows 10 on your computer, you can easily set passwords for your files and folders with built-in features.

So, it is a no-brainer that you protect your work, projects, personal details, and other private information from prying eyes. But if you’re working in an office environment, there’s a high possibility that someone will use your computer. Many times, you may save important details on your computer without thinking that anyone can access them. If you’ve not been setting passwords for your files, folders, and zip files, you’re unknowingly compromising your privacy.

For details on AES encryption method, please refer to from Wikipedia.The best way to keep your files private is to lock them with strong passwords that no one can break.

In particular, encrypted files can be deleted from a Zip file, or renamed within a Zip file while new, unencrypted files can be added to a Zip file without a password.

7-Zip uses password-based encryption, and even a strong encryption algorithm like AES is of little or no benefit if the passwords you use are weak, or you do not keep track of them in a secure manner.

To open the file, you will need to provide the password.

Now the file is encrypted with password.

Then enter your password (We highly recommend to set password with more than 8 characters which consists of alphabets and numbers), and choose the 'Encryption method' you prefer.

Make sure to choose ' zip' for the archive format.

Then right click the selection and choose ' 7-Zip' -> ' Add to archive.' from the menu.

Select the file(s) you need to compress.

To setup a password for ZIP file, please follow the steps below (screen capture based on 7-Zip): The contents of the files that you want to protect are encrypted based on a password that you specify. 7-Zip's encryption facility protects sensitive documents from unauthorized viewing.

Adding password to a zip file