Zip program?

Box Brownie

Box Brownie

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Hi all

It has been a while since I needed or used a zip program but now have need of one that allows password protection of the file.

I have W10 Pro.................what would you recommend? The smaller the 'footprint' on the PC the better i.e. a standalone exe that can reside in its own folder, I dislike programmes that are bloated when all you need, as in this instance, a simple job job done quickly :)

TIA for any insights.
 
Not sure about password protection but I have use winzip for as long as I can remember and never though it was bloated or complicated
 
7 zip although a great utility for un-zipping most archive types it's zipping abilities are slightly limited.

It does not offer the ability to password protect the zipped file for instance which is a requirement of the OP
 
Keith W said:
7 zip although a great utility for un-zipping most archive types it's zipping abilities are slightly limited.

It does not offer the ability to password protect the zipped file for instance which is a requirement of the OP
Click to expand...
Yes it does!
 
Keith W said:
7 zip although a great utility for un-zipping most archive types it's zipping abilities are slightly limited.

It does not offer the ability to password protect the zipped file for instance which is a requirement of the OP
Click to expand...

it does encrypt, (AES-256 & ZipCrypto encryption for .zip files)
 
Another happy 7-zip user here too and yes it does support encryption as mentioned above
 
Thanks all for the insights & feedback.

I certainly recall using WinZip and receiving files zipped with 7-zip. I will revisit both source sites and see what they offer and decide which one to use.
 
Retune said:
7-zip is excellent. Get it directly from the author's site:

http://www.7-zip.org

Or if you prefer a portable standalone version, from here:

https://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/7-zip_portable

But note that a proper installation of the normal version gives you a very useful right-click menu - I use this all the time.
Click to expand...

As I wanted a small footprint software for this purpose I downloaded the 7-zip portable version but it seems that this version does not have the passworded output I was looking for...........................so maybe have to get the full install version if that does it. Also had a quick look at Winzip but now looks like paid version only.
 
We use winzip at work and works well and no issues that i'm aware of
 
Box Brownie said:
As I wanted a small footprint software for this purpose I downloaded the 7-zip portable version but it seems that this version does not have the passworded output I was looking for...........................so maybe have to get the full install version if that does it. Also had a quick look at Winzip but now looks like paid version only.
Click to expand...
Portable 7-zip should work - there should be a box for typing a password in the dialogue you see after adding files to create an archive, which will turn on password-protected encryption. You can also select whether you want the archive to be in zip format or .7z format, and choose the encryption algorithm.

Edit: To see this dialogue, you need to use the '+' button or 'File->Add to archive...'. Options lke 'File->Add to filename.zip' will just create a normal zipfile without asking for a password.
 
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Retune said:
Portable 7-zip should work - there should be a box for typing a password in the dialogue you see after adding files to create an archive, which will turn on password-protected encryption. You can also select whether you want the archive to be in zip format or .7z format, and choose the encryption algorithm.

Edit: To see this dialogue, you need to use the '+' button or 'File->Add to archive...'. Options lke 'File->Add to filename.zip' will just create a normal zipfile without asking for a password.
Click to expand...

The for the heads up & pointer.......I will have a closer look this evening at the "method" you suggest, I did not do it that on my quick look at the way it worked :(
 
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Hmmmm! must be doing something wrong. Though I can create the 7zip with a password and it passes the test in the program I cannot open it where I get asked to enter a password. What I was hoping for was a self extracting zip i.e. one that does not require a zip program on the recipients PC ?

Edit ~ FWIW as I needed to send something now I decided to install WinRar and this was very slick to create the needed self extracting exe files :)
 
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Box Brownie said:
Hmmmm! must be doing something wrong. Though I can create the 7zip with a password and it passes the test in the program I cannot open it where I get asked to enter a password. What I was hoping for was a self extracting zip i.e. one that does not require a zip program on the recipients PC ?

Edit ~ FWIW as I needed to send something now I decided to install WinRar and this was very slick to create the needed self extracting exe files :)
Click to expand...


For a self extracting zip you need to make sure you save it as a ".zip" file not ".7z"

Same with WinRar, this will probably by default save as ".rar", make sure it is ".zip"

Not sure if this defeats the point though with using other software that lets you password protect.
 
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LiamB said:
For a self extracting zip you need to make sure you save it as a ".zip" file not ".7z"

Same with WinRar, this will probably by default save as ".rar", make sure it is ".zip"

Not sure if this defeats the point though with using other software that lets you password protect.
Click to expand...

With 7 zip I did select .zip and it accepted the password and the test of password & extraction worked fine within 7zip but the created file would not open asking for the password! In WinRar for simplicity I used the wizard and the self extractor is .exe and my test of worked AOK

Having said that the recipents email system has rejected the attachments ~ not specified whether file size or .exe ???

So might have to try via a file transfer method e.g. WeTransfer................................what do others use???
 
LiamB said:
For a self extracting zip you need to make sure you save it as a ".zip" file not ".7z"
Click to expand...
This isn't correct for 7-zip - for a self-extracting archive you need to select '7z' as the archive format and tick 'Create SFX archive':
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-7Zip-to-Create-Self-Extracting-excutables
With these settings 7-zip will actually give the archive an '.exe' extension. But .exe files will often be rejected by email programs even if size isn't an issue - an executable looks suspicious (like malware).

Instead of a self-extracting archive, you might just want to create a type of encrypted .zip file that most recent versions of Windows will be able to unzip without having to install a separate zip program (if you use the correct settings). In 7-zip set the archive format to 'zip' and the encryption method to 'ZipCrypto' (not the most secure method, but the most universally supported). The recipient should then be able to unzip it just by double-clicking (just tested under Windows 10 Pro). Windows will ask for a password the first time they try to copy or open a file within the archive. This isn't really a self-extracting archive, but it will appear seamless to a Windows 10 (and probably 7/8) user, since unzip support (including ZipCrypto support) is integrated into Windows Explorer. But I wouldn't use this for anything really important, since an attacker could potentially crack the encryption. AES-256 is much more secure, but Windows on its own doesn't understand it - the recipient needs a compatible zip program, or you need to find a way of sending a self-extracting .exe.
 
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Retune said:
This isn't correct for 7-zip - for a self-extracting archive you need to select '7z' as the archive format and tick 'Create SFX archive':
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-7Zip-to-Create-Self-Extracting-excutables
With these settings 7-zip will actually give the archive an '.exe' extension. But .exe files will often be rejected by email programs even if size isn't an issue - an executable looks suspicious (like malware).

Instead of a self-extracting archive, you might just want to create a type of encrypted .zip file that most recent versions of Windows will be able to unzip without having to install a separate zip program (if you use the correct settings). In 7-zip set the archive format to 'zip' and the encryption method to 'ZipCrypto' (not the most secure method, but the most universally supported). The recipient should then be able to unzip it just by double-clicking (just tested under Windows 10 Pro). Windows will ask for a password the first time they try to copy or open a file within the archive. This isn't really a self-extracting archive, but it will appear seamless to a Windows 10 (and probably 7/8) user, since unzip support (including ZipCrypto support) is integrated into Windows Explorer.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight, I did see the ZipCrypto but as I did not recognise it as 'secure' I picked the AES 256

In the immediate need I have used We Transfer but will test the above for future usage :)
 
In case you read my post before I edited it, you were right to be dubious about ZipCrypto security. It's the original encryption method for zip, and is weak by modern standards.
 
Retune said:
This isn't correct for 7-zip - for a self-extracting archive you need to select '7z' as the archive format and tick 'Create SFX archive':
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-7Zip-to-Create-Self-Extracting-excutables
With these settings 7-zip will actually give the archive an '.exe' extension. But .exe files will often be rejected by email programs even if size isn't an issue - an executable looks suspicious (like malware).

Instead of a self-extracting archive, you might just want to create a type of encrypted .zip file that most recent versions of Windows will be able to unzip without having to install a separate zip program (if you use the correct settings). In 7-zip set the archive format to 'zip' and the encryption method to 'ZipCrypto' (not the most secure method, but the most universally supported). The recipient should then be able to unzip it just by double-clicking (just tested under Windows 10 Pro). Windows will ask for a password the first time they try to copy or open a file within the archive. This isn't really a self-extracting archive, but it will appear seamless to a Windows 10 (and probably 7/8) user, since unzip support (including ZipCrypto support) is integrated into Windows Explorer. But I wouldn't use this for anything really important, since an attacker could potentially crack the encryption. AES-256 is much more secure, but Windows on its own doesn't understand it - the recipient needs a compatible zip program, or you need to find a way of sending a self-extracting .exe.
Click to expand...

I took this to mean that he wanted Windows in built compression tool, therefore if you create it as a .zip, windows will unzip.
 
Box Brownie said:
With 7 zip I did select .zip and it accepted the password and the test of password & extraction worked fine within 7zip but the created file would not open asking for the password! In WinRar for simplicity I used the wizard and the self extractor is .exe and my test of worked AOK

Having said that the recipents email system has rejected the attachments ~ not specified whether file size or .exe ???

So might have to try via a file transfer method e.g. WeTransfer................................what do others use???
Click to expand...

Depends on the email service but i know on my work domain you can not send .exe without it being zipped.
 
LiamB said:
Depends on the email service but i know on my work domain you can not send .exe without it being zipped.
Click to expand...
To add to the confusion, one way to make a file that is securely encrypted, can be opened on a Windows PC without third party software, and also (in many cases) emailed would be to generate an AES-256-encrypted self-extracting .exe with 7-zip (as above), then just zip the exe without additional encryption before sending it.
 
If you want to send someone a password protected self-extracting executable, without email systems jumping on it as a security risk, could you upload it to a free Mega account, and send the link to the recipient?
 
Unipass Securemail as a secure service?
 
If you both have access, and it allows .exe attachments, that looks fine. (y)
 
Box Brownie said:
Unipass Securemail as a secure service?
Click to expand...

Tori_T said:
If you both have access, and it allows .exe attachments, that looks fine. (y)
Click to expand...

In principal as I perceive it using the Unipass method removes the need to zip with passworded self extracting zip. Any attachments are encrypted upon sending and unencrypted upon receipt/download.

AFAIK Unipass Securemail as its name implies is a secure webmail system which relies on emailed interaction between two parties providing emailed links to securely access the Unipass webmail system.

PS on a related side note ~ I discovered that in MS Word from version 2007 onwards you can password protect/encrypt word docs. As far as i can tell for general purpose protection of docs between writer & recipient it is a good method, so does anyone (as needed) encrypt Word docs and just how reliable/robust is the protection???
 
There's sites out there offering Office password crackers that'll open locked files in as little as fifteen seconds, so if you want to protect stuff that mustn't get out, look elsewhere.
 
Tori_T said:
There's sites out there offering Office password crackers that'll open locked files in as little as fifteen seconds, so if you want to protect stuff that mustn't get out, look elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Why does that not surprise me :lol:
 
Ideal world....upload to webspace via sftp, then download via sftp.
 
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