How To Encrypt A file With A Password

Chris Nicola · May 17, 2025

I wish to encrypt a sensitive file with a password so that only someone with the password can open, edit and save it. On Windows 10 I used to use 7 zip which was very easy to use. However 7 zip can't encrypt files on Win 11 because they are already encrypted by the OS. Is there a simple way to password protect a file or folder with Windows 11? Your advice would be appreciated.

Kind regards
Chris

wiganken · May 17, 2025

What kind of file? If it is an Office document then they can be PW protected but the method varies according to whether it a Word doc, Excel spreadsheet or whatever.

antspants · May 17, 2025

Chris Nicola said:
However 7 zip can't encrypt files on Win 11 because they are already encrypted by the OS

Hi, Chris. I am not sure that is actually correct. If you zip a file to a 7z file, you should still be able to password protect & Encrypt it also if you wanted to.

I’ll take a closer look tomorrow.

To password-protect a 7z file in Windows 11, even if your drive is already encrypted, you'll still use 7-Zip's built-in encryption feature. The drive's encryption won't affect the password protection of the archive itself.

Right-click and choose "Add to archive...":
Select the files or folders you want to archive, right-click, and choose "7-Zip" > "Add to archive...".
Choose archive format and password:
In the "Add to Archive" window, select "7z" as the archive format. Under the "Encryption" section, enter your desired password and confirm it.
Select encryption method (optional):
You can choose the encryption method, and AES-256 is generally recommended.
Click "OK":
Click "OK" to create the password-protected 7z archive.

echo2446 · May 17, 2025

Hi Chris,

I do encrypt sensitive files with 7z on Windows 11 all the time, on top of the BitLocker encryption. This is insurance against malware or unauthorized access to my machine that doesn't manage to compromise my password manager too.

Why on top of BitLocker encryption? Because it's always encrypted unless I am using it, unlike BitLocker, which is more or less decrypted as far as the running processes are concerned.

FreeBooter · May 17, 2025

This guide discusses about how you can encrypt files and folders in Windows using EncryptOnClick program.

Winuser · May 17, 2025

I use VeraCrypt when I need to password protect a file or folder. VeraCrypt - Free Open source disk encryption with strong security for the Paranoid

Chris Nicola · May 17, 2025

Thank you all for your replies and for the video and suggestions to alternative programes.

It is a text file that I want to encrypt. On Win 10, 7 zip used to work just fine.

On Win 11, 7 zip technically allows me to "Encrypt" the text file with a password to a .7z archive. Double clicking opens the archive and then I can see the text file However, the problem is when I try to double click to open the text file. Double clicking on it gives me this error message:

If I right click / open with 7zip, 7zip tries to launch but can't.

Maybe I have misunderstood the error message. Maybe the Windows zip programe is trying to open the file and not 7zip. Maybe the solution is simple and I have missed an important step.

Kind regards
Chris

antspants · May 17, 2025

Chris, at a guess you may have to extract file first and not attempt to access the content directly through the archive? I’d say that’s possible a security requirement?

gunrunnerjohn · May 17, 2025

Chris Nicola said:
I wish to encrypt a sensitive file with a password so that only someone with the password can open, edit and save it. On Windows 10 I used to use 7 zip which was very easy to use. However 7 zip can't encrypt files on Win 11 because they are already encrypted by the OS. Is there a simple way to password protect a file or folder with Windows 11? Your advice would be appreciated.

Kind regards
Chris

Of course you can encrypt files with 7-Zip, you can use either the 7z format or ZIP format. I do it all the time!

Chris Nicola · May 17, 2025

Thanks for your reply. If I try to right click/open with 7 Zip, 7 zip will not launch. Maybe 7 Zip encryption is not compatible with the latest version of Win 11 I am using?

Edition Windows 11 Pro
Version 24H2
Installed on ‎14/‎05/‎2025
OS build 26100.4061
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.84.0

Is anyone else successfully using 7 zip to encrypt files with this build? Actually 7 Zip will encrypt them (I think). But trying to open them is the problem.

Error Message:

"windows cannot complete the extraction. Error ox80071772 the specified file is encrypted and the user does not have the ability to encrypt it".

Kind regards
Chris

TairikuOkami · May 17, 2025

Chris Nicola said:
It is a text file that I want to encrypt.

You can save it as a document, like docx or xlsx and use your office encryption. It is pretty safe.

gunrunnerjohn · May 17, 2025

Chris Nicola said:
Thanks for your reply. If I try to right click/open with 7 Zip, 7 zip will not launch. Maybe 7 Zip encryption is not compatible with the latest version of Win 11 I am using?

Edition Windows 11 Pro
Version 24H2
Installed on ‎14/‎05/‎2025
OS build 26100.4061
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.84.0

Is anyone else successfully using 7 zip to encrypt files with this build? Actually 7 Zip will encrypt them (I think). But trying to open them is the problem.

I just right clicked on a folder, no problem at all. I got all the options, so I entered a password and compressed the folder with 7z format. It worked fine, and when I opened it, it required the password to open the file, just as expected.

Looks like the same version of windows as you have...

Sounds like something to do with your installation, not Windows capabilities.

Chris Nicola · May 17, 2025

Yes, using a Word doc would be another option. It's good yto know that in theory, 7zip should be able to encrypt and decrupt on this Win 11 build. I have no idea of the meaning of the error message.

"windows cannot complete the extraction. Error 0x80071772 the specified file is encrypted and the user does not have the ability to encrypt it".

Kind regards
Chris

gunrunnerjohn · May 17, 2025

I think you're seeing Windows trying to decrypt the file using it's internal encryption. This is some Windows file association or folder permissions issue, not a problem with 7-Zip.

pseymour · May 17, 2025

Yep, it looks like Windows is handling the .7z. See this thread with the mighty garlin...

Error 0x80071772 Opening Encrypted Files

Hi everyone, I've been lurking this forum for years and finally had a worthy question of posting about! I just upgraded to a Lenovo T14 ThinkPad with Windows 11. So far, the transition from my old Lenovo laptop has been going well, but the one thing that I can't seem to figure out is a weird...

www.elevenforum.com

hdmi · May 17, 2025

Try NanaZip, the improved "version" of 7-Zip. (It's actually a fork of 7-Zip.)

GitHub - M2Team/NanaZip: The 7-Zip derivative intended for the modern Windows experience

The 7-Zip derivative intended for the modern Windows experience - M2Team/NanaZip

github.com

gunrunnerjohn · May 17, 2025

hdmi said:
Try NanaZip, the improved "version" of 7-Zip. (It's actually a fork of 7-Zip.)

GitHub - M2Team/NanaZip: The 7-Zip derivative intended for the modern Windows experience

The 7-Zip derivative intended for the modern Windows experience - M2Team/NanaZip

github.com

What makes it "better"?

OldNavy · May 17, 2025

Here is a program (free) by 2BrightSparks that will encrypt a file for you....

EncryptOnClick

EncryptOnClick Freeware EncryptOnClick Freeware is a program that lets you securely encrypt and decrypt files. EncryptOnClick Freeware is like hiring your own highly expe

www.2brightsparks.com

Chris Nicola · May 17, 2025

Thank you all again for your replies. I have set 7zip as my default app in Win 11 settings but still no joy. When I double click the 7z archive 7 zip will not launch. Windows is blocking it.

Kind regards
Chris

Edwin · May 17, 2025

Chris Nicola said:
When I double click the 7z archive 7 zip will not launch. Windows is blocking it.

I think Explorer is still trying to handle the extraction, use the 7-Zip right click command...

How To Encrypt A file With A Password

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