Passwords must be shared via out of band.

**IMPORTANT** – Do not share a password via email. The new archive file will be located in the same folder as the original.

Step 7: Select “Ok” to create the encrypted archive file. Use a strong password with at least 8 characters containing upper and lowercase letters, and a minimum of one number. It is strongly recommended to use AES-256 to protect sensitive and confidential data. Selecting ZipCrypto may allow users to open the zip file in Windows without a zip program, but it does not provide adequate protection against attackers with modern cracking tools. AES-256 is proven much more secure than ZipCrypto, but if you select AES-256 the recipient of the zip file may have to install 7-zip or another zip program to read the file contents. There is a trade-off between using AES-256 and ZipCrypto. Step 5: Change the Encryption Method to “AES-256”. Step 4: Change the Archive format to “Zip”. Step 3: In the Add to Archive window change the name of the archive you wish to create. Step 2: Select “7-Zip” then “Add to archive…” Step 1: Right click on the file / folder to be encrypted. Once the software is installed, please follow these steps to encrypt a file or folder. To obtain a copy of 7-Zip, please see and select the appropriate Download link. 7-Zip is a free software that creates Zip files that can be opened with WinZip or other similar programs. That archive can be encrypted and protected with a password. When you send or transfer files that contain Personal Identifiable Information (PII) or other confidential and sensitive data, the files must be encrypted to ensure they are protected from unauthorized disclosure.ħ-Zip, like WinZip, creates a container called archive that holds the files to be protected. 7-Zip is an open source software used to compress or zip files secured with encryption.

How do zip files work