Sometimes, we tend to share our Mac with a friend or a colleague, and at such times, we wish there was a way to password protect a folder which contains our personal stuff. This article presents an easy technique that Mac OS X users may implement, to protect their precious data.
‘For my eyes only‘. Don’t you wish that you could add a similar specification to private folders on your Mac? There are many files and folders that contain valuable personal information, which you do not wish to share. Here are some ways in which you can protect that data.
Creating a Password-Protected Folder on Mac OS X
You can password protect a folder on Mac by using the default tool available on the operating system.
Step 1
You need to go to Finder —> Applications —> Utilities —> Disk Utility. Then you need to click on File —> New —> Blank Disk Image or click on the New Image button. Here, you need to type a name in the field labeled – Save As and choose a destination for the image being created, besides selecting a drive volume format.
Step 2
Next, choose an image format. If you want the image to use only as much as space as it needs, use the ‘sparse disk image‘ option. Otherwise, choose the ‘read/write disk image‘ alternative.
Step 3
Subsequently, you need to select either 128-bit AES or 256-bit AES encryption. If you need the access to be speedy, go for 128-bit encryption, and if you need to be extra safe choose the latter.
Step 4
Once you select the encryption field, you need to click on ‘Create’. The Disk Utility will begin to create an image and prompt you to enter a password. You can select an option for the password to be stored in the keychain for easy retrieval, in case it’s forgotten. If you don’t select the option, make sure you actually remember the password, as otherwise, the data becomes irretrievable.
Step 5
After you click OK, the disk utility will create a .dmg disk image, bearing the chosen name. This will be a password-protected image and you need to double click over the new .dmg file to open it. Your file opens as a drive and all you need to do is drag your files and folders into the disk image. No one can access the folder contents, without entering a password.
Such security features, make Mac OS X, one of the most preferred operating systems in the world.