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Password protect files for secure sharing

Restriction

The feature is only available in Central Device Encryption 2.0 or later. This is only available for Windows.

You can protect files up to 50 MB.

You can turn this on in a Device Encryption policy.

  • Enable right-click context menu

    If you turn on this option, a Create password-protected file option appears on the right-click menu. Users can attach password-protected files to emails when sending sensitive data to recipients outside your corporate network. Files are wrapped in a new HTML file with encrypted content.

    Recipients can open the file by double-clicking it and entering the password. They can send the received file back and protect it with the same or a new password, or they can create a new password-protected file.

    Tip

    To share a password-protected folder, create a Zip file from it and then password protect that Zip file.

  • Enable Outlook add-in

    This option adds encryption of email attachments to Outlook. Users can protect attachments by selecting Protect Attachments on the Outlook ribbon. All unprotected attachments are wrapped in a new HTML attachment with encrypted content, and the email is sent.

    The add-in is available after users restart their Outlook app.

  • Always ask how to proceed with attached files

    If you turn on this option, users must choose how to send attachments whenever the message contains one. They can send them password protected or unprotected.

    You can enter excluded domains for which the Always ask how to proceed with attached files option does not apply, for example, your organization's domain. If recipients belong to such a domain, the senders aren't asked how they want to handle attachments.

    Enter only complete domain names and separate them by commas.

Supported browsers

We support the following browsers for opening password-protected files:

  • Google Chrome on Windows, macOS, and Android
  • Firefox on Windows, macOS, and Android
  • Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 and later
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 11.x on Windows 7

Another browser known to work but not officially supported is Opera on Windows, macOS, and Android.

Other browsers may or may not work.