Secrets.

Question

There are not too many secrets in my house - but just now and again I have things I would like to keep to myself (research on birthday presents or surprise holidays etc.) Would anyone know of a way to tag the odd folder in a way that requires a password to open it. I usually keep my folders in Finder, don't ask me why, it suits me that way, but I don't want to lock up whole applications.
But please, keep it simple.
Big thank you.

Answer 1

Hello!
Yes, you can use Disk Utility (found in your Applications/Utilities folder). In Disk Utility, go to File - New - Disk Image from Folder, and choose the folder you want to protect. Click "Image".
Next, in the "Save As" window, give the new image a name (you can use the same name as the folder, if you'd like), change the Image Format to "read/write" and Encryption to either 128 or 256-bit (it doesn't really matter which you choose). Then you'll be prompted to enter a new password, and type it again to confirm it.
Do not forget this password, or you'll lose access to those files. There's no way to get them back.
I'd advise you not to tick "Remember password in my keychain", since that would allow anyone to get into the file if you're logged in. Then click OK. The encrypted disk image will be created as a .dmg file.
To test it, double-click on that file to open it, and you should be asked for the new password. Make sure you can open the disk image and edit your files. Eject the disk image to close it. Once you know that it works, delete the original folder and empty your trash.
Matt