How to Password Protect Files on a Mac

Download Article

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: March 7, 2024 Tested

Download Article

Creating a Folder

|

Adding the Password

|

Q&A

|

Tips

|

Warnings

This wikiHow teaches you how to create a password-protected disk image (DMG) folder on a Mac.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Creating a Folder

Download Article

Click the Finder app icon, which resembles a blue face, in your Mac's Dock.
It's on the left side of the Finder window.

Advertisement
This option is in the upper-left corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
It's in the File drop-down menu. Doing so will add a new folder to your Mac's desktop with the name field selected.
5
Enter a name for your folder. Type in the name that you want to use for your folder, then press ⏎ Return.
- The name that you use here doesn't really matter since you're going to rename the password-protected version of the folder.
6
Add files to the folder. Once you've created your folder, you can add the files which you want to password-protect to it by doing the following:
- Go to the files' location.
- Select files to move to the folder by holding down ⌘ Command and clicking each file.
- Press ⌘ Command+X to copy and cut the files.
- Open the folder that you created.
- Press ⌘ Command+V to paste in the files.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Adding the Password

Download Article

1
Open Disk Utility. Click Spotlight
, type in disk utility, and double-click the Disk Utility result.
- You can also find Disk Utility in the Utilities section of the Finder's Go menu item.
It's in the upper-left side of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
This is near the top of the File drop-down menu. Selecting it will prompt a pop-out menu to appear.
It's in the pop-out menu. Doing so will open a new window.
Go to the Desktop folder by clicking the drop-down box at the top of the window and clicking Desktop in the drop-down menu, then click your created folder.
It's in the bottom-right corner of the window.
7
Enter a title for your folder. Type whatever you want to name your protected folder into the "Save As" text box.
- You cannot use the same title as the folder that you created or any other folder on your desktop.
- You can also select a save location by clicking the "Where" drop-down box and then selecting a folder in the drop-down menu.
It's near the bottom of the window. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
You'll find this option in the drop-down box. Doing so opens the password window.^{[1]
X
Research source}
Type your preferred password into both the "Password" text box and the "Verify" text box, then click Choose in the bottom-right corner of the password window.
It's a blue button at the bottom of the window. Doing so will save your settings and create your password-protected folder.
12
Use the password-protected folder. To open the folder, double-click it, then enter the password that you set for it when prompted. The folder will open, and a drive-shaped icon will appear on your desktop.
- You may have to restart your Mac before the folder will ask for your password.
- You can close and re-protect the folder by moving the drive-shaped icon into the Trash and then restarting your Mac.

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

How I can open the utility disk and see the hidden information?

Community Answer

After hitting "eject," the disk image you created goes away. To reopen it, find that .dmg file that was created, and it will request you to enter the password. Then the disk image will reappear.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 4
Question

If I later move this map to an external source, USB or other hard-drive, will the map and files still be coded?

Community Answer

Yes, they will. It works the same as a zip file. The only downside is that you can only open it on Macs. For Windows you will need additional software.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 5
Question

Why was another "operating drive" icon created on my desktop that I can't get rid of?

Community Answer

The only reason for this would be that the computer recognized another drive, maybe a time machine backup drive? If not, this could be an SSD or a flash drive, or an SD card that may be in your computer. If this is the system drive duplicated, this would be a partition issue. To view the drives on a Mac, go to Spotlight (the search icon in the top right corner) then search for the app titled "Disk Utility." Here you can view all the drives you have active, and also preform first aid and corrections if a drive is improperly partitioned. If this is a time machine drive, navigate to the Time Machine app to manage these preferences.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 1 Helpful 0

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Tips

If asked whether or not you want to add your DMG folder's password to your Mac's Keychain, decline. This will prevent your Mac from automatically opening the folder without asking for the password.

Thanks
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0