To protect documents, images, and other files stored on a Mac computer from unauthorized access, you can encrypt them or protect them with a password. Next, we explain step by step how to do it through this guide with practical screenshots..
To encrypt a folder on a Mac, you must first create an image of that folder and then protect it with a password.
An image is a reflection of a file or folder. It works as a volume or mountable device that connects to the Mac. It is recognized by the extension. dmg.
Here are the steps required to encrypt a folder on Mac iOS system..
Step 1 . Create a folder (on your desktop or anywhere else on your Mac) that contains all the files you want to encrypt.
Step 2 . Open the application? Disk Utility? on your Mac. The quickest way to do this is to search for it with the option? Spotlight Search? (the magnifying glass in the options bar at the top right):
Press the? Enter? to open the program..
Step 3 . Select? File? on the top bar of your screen. Then? New Image? and, finally,? Image of the folder ?. With the correct Mac keyboard shortcut, you can do it faster.
Step 4 . Select the folder you want to encrypt in the window that will open next:
Step 5 . A window will open in which you must give a name to the image to be created, assign tags (optional) and select where to save it. But the most important thing will be to choose the encryption option: select AES 256-bit encryption, because this is currently the most secure method, not just to encrypt a Mac folder. In the current state of the art, this encryption process only takes a bit longer than 128-bit AES encryption.
Step 6 . Next, another window will open in which you can define a password for the folder (or the image).
To encrypt a folder on a Mac, choose a strong password that is at least eight characters long and contains a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Avoid using words or dates that can be easily associated with you, such as your last name, date of birth, or zip code.
Step 7 . Confirm your password by clicking the button? OK? to start creating a protected folder with the? Disk Utility? on your Mac.
Step 8 . Once the encryption process is complete, the protected folder will now be in the location you selected at the beginning of the process.
Important : you can now delete the original folder, as it is not encrypted. All your data is now in the encoded image of the folder.
To access the data contained in the encrypted image that you created, double-click on the file and enter the password you defined in step six.
If you no longer want to work with the folder or files it contains, be sure to delete the archive image, because the data is now accessible without the need for a password. Delete it through the menu or by dragging the file to the recycle bin.