

There are no guarantees that the person on the receiving end of a password-protected zipped folder will have the tools necessary to open it. Part of the reason why, out-of-the-box, Windows doesn't give you the ability to password-protect compressed folders is "portability".

The zip file creation process in Windows 7 and previous versions is very basic: it allows you to add modest compression to make your zipped files and folders smaller, without using some of the more advanced compression algorithms available in specialized software like WinZip. Add password-protection to a compressed folder in Windows 7 / Vista / XP
