Encrypting Compressed ZIP Files

When a compressed file has sensitive data match information in it and you wish to keep the file on your computer, you should utilize the Encrypt feature to automate the securing of the file with encryption.  Depending on the software you use for uncompressing files, you should be careful to choose the correct encryption options.

There are two ways to Encrypt a single file:

  1. Single click the file result with the left mouse button to highlight it and click the Encrypt button on the Main ribbon. If you are signed in to your Profile, that password will be automatically used. To use an alternate password, click the down-arrow on the Encrypt button and select "Encrypt with Alternate Password".
  2. Single click the file result with the right mouse button to highlight it and bring up a context menu, then highlight and left-click on Encrypt.

To encrypt multiple files at the same time, select the desired files by using one of the following methods and then selecting one of the two ways noted above:

  1. To select all files, click the checkbox column header or right click on any result and choose "Select all rows"
  2. To select a series of single files, check the checkbox next to each file or hold down the control (Ctrl) key and single-left click each file
  3. To select a series of consecutive rows, hold down the shift key and single-left click the first file to be selected and then, while still holding down shift, single-left click the last file to be selected - all files between the first and last will be selected.

After clicking Encrypt, a dialog box will open asking you to confirm. If you are not signed into your Profile, enter a password to encrypt the file(s) and click OK. If you click Cancel, no files will be encrypted. If you click OK and multiple files were selected, the password and encryption option you have configured will be applied to each file. After clicking OK, Spirion will encrypt each file and remove its result row from the Results View allowing you to continue dealing with other, insecure identity matches.

If you are logged into your Profile, the password used to encrypt the selected file(s) will be automatically saved within the Password Vault. To disable this option, uncheck the setting "Store all passwords used for securing items inside the Spirion Password Vault".

Next time you try to open the file with your uncompressing application (i.e., Windows or WinZip), the associated application will prompt you for the password you entered via Spirion.  If you forget your password, you will not be able to open your file.

Note: The following two encryption options are available:

  1. Low encryption utilizes Zip 2.0 encryption and is compatible with Windows 2000/XP and later. This option is not a strong encryption option and it is highly recommended that you use High Zip Encryption.
  2. High encryption utilizes 256-bit AES encryption and requires the use of the Spirion Open Secure Zip File Tool or a third party application such as WinZip to open.

Note: Choose a strong password to be sure your document is safe.