Setting a password for the WinRAR archive. How to put a password on a folder (archive or otherwise password protect it in Windows)

In order to put a password on a WinRAR archive, you must first create one, since the archiver allows you to set password protection only before starting the file compression process. If you have a ready-made archive that you want to “password-protect,” then you first need to unzip it, and then repack it, but with a password.

Let's show it with an example. Let's say we have an agreement or any other document (or photo, video - whatever) that we want to archive and protect from prying eyes. In our case, this is the document “Agreement.docx”.

Let's archive it. Right-click on the document and select the archive command using WinRAR.

A window will open in which you can change the compression level, select the archive format, split it into volumes and set a password for it. Click on the button of the same name.

* in previous versions of the archiver this button was located in the “Advanced” tab.

In the window that appears, enter mine password. For convenience, you can enable its display by checking the checkbox.

Then click " OK».

And in the next window also click " OK" to begin the process of archiving your file.

That's it! Now, when you try to open any files from this archive or when you try to extract them from there, WinRAR will ask for a password. It is better to write it down on a piece of paper and hide it away, because if it is lost it cannot be restored.

Advice: use capital and small letters and numbers when creating your secret phrase to protect it from hacking (by brute force). Its maximum possible length is 127 characters.

WinRAR also has a tool that resembles something like a password manager. In it you can store all your passwords and use them to open your archives without having to manually enter them each time and remember them. You can open the manager in the same window in which you set password protection by clicking on this button:

The program will warn you that you can only place passwords in the manager if no one else has access to your computer, since they are stored there in unencrypted form.

Therefore, the most reliable option is to store them on a piece of paper, or even better, in your head. If you want to use the dispatcher, click " OK" to close the warning.

After this, a window will open in which you can manage your passwords - add new ones to the list, delete, change, move up and down, etc.

After finishing working with the tool, click " OK" to close it.

As you can see, it was not difficult for us to password protect the archive in WinRAR. It won’t be difficult to remove the password either (if you know it), but this is another instruction.

If the user does not want a specific file or group of files to fall into the wrong hands, there are many options to hide them from prying eyes. One option is to set a password for the archive. Let's find out how to put a password on an archive using WinRAR.

Setting a password

First of all, we need to select the files that we are going to encrypt. Then, right-click to open the context menu and select “Add files to archive.”

In the settings window that opens for the archive being created, click on the “Set password” button.

After this, enter the password that we want to set for the archive twice. It is advisable that this password be at least seven characters long. In addition, the password must consist of both numbers and upper and lowercase letters mixed together. Thus, you can guarantee maximum protection of your password from hacking and other actions of intruders.

To hide the names of files in the archive from prying eyes, you can check the box next to the “Encrypt file names” value. After that, click on the “OK” button.

Then, we return to the archive settings window. If all other settings and the location for creating the archive suit us, then click the “OK” button. Otherwise, we make additional settings, and only then click on the “OK” button.

The password-protected archive has been created.

It is important to note that you can only set a password for an archive in WinRAR during the process of creating it. If the archive has already been created, and you only eventually decided to set a password on it, then you should repack the files again, or attach the existing archive to a new one.

As you can see, although creating a password-protected archive in the WinRAR program, at first glance, is not so difficult, the user is still required to have certain knowledge.

Setting a password ensures reliable information protection. It is recommended to use 8 or more characters, large and small letters, as well as special characters such as a question mark or asterisk.

The method of cracking it is brute force, and the more complex the password, the less likely it is to be hacked. If for some reason you forget it, you may not hope to gain access to the information. To install it, you will need an archiver; most likely you already have one.

7z can provide similar privacy. You can also use a less secure method in zip. It is impossible to hide names and other data in it.

Setting a password in Winrar

Download and install the program if you don't already have it. It is conditionally free for 40 days. After this period, you will simply be shown a notification about purchasing a license.

Select the files and right-click on them. In the context menu, select “Add to archive...” as in the image below.

In the window that appears, click on “Set password…” and a new window will appear.

Then create and enter a password, and don't forget to check the box to encrypt file names. So their names will be invisible until the assigned password is entered.

Interesting fact! The length of the rar archive password is maximum 127 characters.

Now when opening or unpacking you will be required to enter a password.

You can see almost the same thing in this video.

Setting a password in 7-zip

Everything is similar in this program. Download it if you don't already have it and install it. It's absolutely free.

You can see the program in action both in the video and in the article.

Right-click on the files you want to protect. And select the line “Add to archive...” in the context menu.

Select the format, and enter the password on the right as in the image below. The encryption method is best to use AES-256. It is the safest.

Now, in order to extract data or use it, you need to unlock the protection.

Setting a password for an existing archive

To do this, you need to add any 1 file to the archive. Then the corresponding windows will appear as when creating it, where you can set a password by following similar steps ( see above). And below you can see where the file is added.

Adding to Winrar.

Adding to 7-zip.

For those who are interested, I have made a table in which you will see the support for encryption by various formats.

Now you know how to reliably protect information. If you have any difficulties, write in the comments.

Have you ever forgotten your archive password?

Setting a password for an archive is the easiest way to prevent unauthorized access to files and folders on your computer. Even an inexperienced user can protect an archive. It is enough to know a few rules when choosing a password and follow the steps indicated in the instructions below.

Important: A strong password is a set of at least 8 characters, including numbers, upper and lowercase letters, and special characters (!*+$#...). You can store your password on a flash drive or phone. A text file on a computer with a neutral name and a saved .dll or .sys extension is also suitable - such a file will not arouse interest from outsiders.

You can add or remove files from the password-protected archive at any time. If you have both of the archivers described above, you can work with any of them, regardless of which archiving program you set the password in.

If your archive could fall into unwanted hands, then it is best to put a password on it. This will secure it and make access to it confidential. By the way, the Winrar archive password is not so easy to crack, although the Internet often writes the opposite.

We will not consider in detail the process of creating the archive itself, because we have already written about this in one of the articles that you can read. After you see a window with archive settings settings, click the " Set password..." (Set password).

After you enter the password twice, click the " OK". The dialog box will close and you will be returned to the archive settings.

That's all. Now you can not only create archives in the Winrar archiver program, but also set a password for them.