Password Protection for Dropbox Folders

Password-protecting folders is often a great idea. If you want to share your folders that have private or sensitive data and want to ensure that no intruders can access it, password protecting your folders might be a good idea. This simply adds an additional security layer. Let’s look into different ways of achieving this additional security. 

Method 1: Create and Share Password-Protected Links

Creating a password protecting link while sharing your folders would allow you to control who can view/edit your files. You can also set an expiration date for access. After the set date, no one would be able to view the respective files. 

iPhone/iPad or Android

1. Launch the Dropbox app
2. Click on the Menu icon that you will see next to the folder that you want to protect
3. Head to Folder Settings 
4. Click on Link Settings & then Control Access
5. Set Require Password to ON
6. Click on Who can View, & then select the Only people with a password option
7. Choose a password for your folder
8. Hit Save

Desktop: 

1. Log into your Dropbox account 
2. Select All files from the sidebar 
3. Click on the folder you would like to protect & then click on the Share button
4. Head to Settings 
5. Choose “Link For Viewing” if you want to give permission to view only. Alternatively, you can opt for “Link For Editing” to allow both viewings as well as editing
6. Set Require Password to ON 
7. Chose a password for your folder
8. You can also set an access expiration date after which your folder will no longer be visible through that link
9. Hit Save

Method 2: Password-Protected Zip Files 

Apart from password protecting your files online, you can also do it on your local machine. You can download, compress and password-protect your folders with the help of a compression utility. Once you are done, you can re-upload them to your Dropbox account.

1. Install a file compression software tool. You can use various tools such as Free 7 Zip, WinZip, or WinRAR. In this guide, we will be assuming that you have 7 Zip installed already.
2. Log into your Dropbox account from your Desktop’s web browser & click on All Files
3. Head to the folder you would like to download
4. To download, look for the three dots button next to the folder’s name
5. Click on Download 
6. Right-click on the folder you would like to protect 
7. Chose 7-Zip
8. Click on Add to Archive 
9. Name your folder. To keep it convenient, you are suggested to use the existing folder name
10. Choose your desired archiving format (for example: .tar, .rar, .zip)
11. You can also choose to encrypt your folder. To do so, open the drop-down menu on the bottom corner of your screen and choose your preferred Encryption Method (for eg: AES-256.
12. Type in a password for your folders within the Enter Password field 
13. In the Repeat Password field, re-type the same password  
14. To create the archive, click on OK 
15. Finally, open Dropbox again to reupload your folder. 
16. Click on the Upload icon & then choose the respective folder. 

Now, let’s analyze how effective this method might be. 

Advantages: 

• You can protect your personal data from server leaks or hackers 

• Not just password-protect, but you can also encrypt your data and hence, get protection against ransomware, identity thefts, or Man-in-the-Middle attacks.
  

Disadvantages: 

• Depending on how large your file/folders are, this method can take quite some time since it requires you to download & re-upload your folders along with all their data.
  
• Since Dropbox does not support viewing compressed files, you won’t be able to view your folders directly via Dropbox’s web interface. Hence, every time you want to see the folder’s contents, you would have to download it again. 

Method 3: Enabling Two-Factor Authentication: 

Two-factor authentication acts as an additional layer of protection to keep your account safe from cybercriminals by confirming your identity. With two-factor authentication enabled, hackers cannot just access your Dropbox account with a password alone since they will need to input a code received via an email, text message, or the Google Authenticator app. 

To enable two-factor authentication, follow these simple steps:

1. Launch Dropbox & log into your account
2. Click on your profile picture
3. Head to Settings 
4. Go to the Security tab 
5. Set the Two-step verification toggle button to ON 
6. Hit the Get Started button.
7. Input your password
8. Choose Text Message to receive the 2FA code via SMS, or choose Mobile App to receive it through Google Authenticator or other similar tools.