Do you have a text file with sensitive information on your Windows 10 PC? Want to password protect text files in Windows 10? In this guide, we will see the three easy ways out there to password protect text files in Windows 10 and earlier versions.
Creating a password protected zip file containing text files is probably the easiest way out there to password protect text files in Windows. In addition to that method, you can use LockNote software password protect text files.
Following are the three easy ways to password protect text files in Windows 10 and earlier versions of Windows operating system.
Use LockNote to password protect text file
LockNote is a free program designed to help you to password protect your text file with ease. When you use LockNote program to password protect a text file, it creates a password protected executable file containing your text and not the text file.
Basically, LockNote is a text editor with password protection capabilities. You can password protect notes created using LockNote.
If you have used another text editor to create a text file and wanted to protect it, you need to copy and paste the text (not the text file) that you want to password protect into the LockNote interface and then save the file. LockNote saves the file as an executable rather than saving it as a normal text file. While saving the file, LockNote allows you to add a password to the note.
To open the note, you just need to open the executable by double-clicking on it. The executable will be opened with LockNote program.
Here is how to use LockNote to password protect a text file in Windows:
Step 1: Download LockNote program from this page. Extract the zip file to get LockNote folder. Open up the folder to find the LockNote executable.
Step 2: Run the LockNote program by double-clicking on its executable. By default, the LockNote will display some text. You can erase all the text and copy and paste the text that you want to protect.
Step 3: Click the File menu, click Save as option, choose a location to save the note, enter a name for the note/executable, and then click Save button to see a prompt asking to enter the password. Enter a password and re-enter the password. Click OK button to create a password protected executable containing your text file.
To open the password protected note/executable, double-click on the executable that you previously created. Enter the password to see the note.
Use 7-Zip (free) to password protect text files in Windows 10
In this method, we create a password protected zip file containing your text file. To access the text file inside the protected zip file, you will have to enter the password. Here is how to do just that. In fact, you can use this method to protect all file types.
Step 1: Download and install 7-Zip, if not already installed on your PC.
Step 2: Right-click on the text file which you want to protect with password, click 7-Zip, and then click Add to archive option. This action will open 7-Zip’s Add to Archive dialog.
Step 3: Here, in the Archive section, enter a name for your new password protected zip file and select a location to save the file.
Select the archive format as zip. In the Encryption section, either select the default ZipCrypto or popular AES-256 encryption.
Finally, enter the password which you would like to use to password protect text file, re-enter the password, and then click OK button to create a zip file containing your text file. That’s it!
Now, whenever you try to open the zip file using Windows 10’s built-in zip extraction tool or any other tool, you will need to enter the password to get the text file.
Use WinRAR to password protect text files in Windows 10
Step 1: Download WinRAR setup file, and install it on your PC.
Step 2: Right-click on the text file which you want to password protect and then click Add to archive option. This action will open Archive name and parameters dialog.
Step 3: In the General tab, enter a name for the zip file, select archive format as ZIP, and then click Set password button.
Step 4: Enter the password, and re-enter the password. Finally, click OK button to create a password protected zip file containing your text file.
In addition to 7-Zip and WinRAR, you can also use other archiving software like WinZip, Bandizip, and PeaZip to password protect text files in Windows 10 and earlier versions.
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