Make a password-protected zip archive

1. Download the thing attached at the bottom of this page -- "Make Protected Zip.workflow.zip" -- and double-click it ONCE to unzip it.

2. In the Finder, click the Go menu and select "Library." If it's not listed, press and hold the Option key to make it appear.

3. Open the "Services" subfolder and drag "Make Protected Zip.workflow" into there.

4. Right-click (or ctrl-click) on the file or folder that you want to protect. A contextual menu will appear. Look for "Services" and click "Make Protected Zip". (It may be "loose" in the list, depending on your operating system version.)

This video summarizes steps 2 thru 4. The "Library" choice appears when I press the Option key, and disappears when I let go. Hence the "now you see it now you don't".

5. You will be prompted to provide a name for the zipped file you're about to make.

6. You'll then be prompted to set the password. Type carefully.

7. You'll be prompted to reenter that password, to confirm.

8. You'll end up with a file named whatever you specified, with the .zip suffix. Send that to someone, and then, SEPARATELY, tell them the password (e.g. over the phone or by fax.)

9. When they double-click it, they should get prompted for the password.

Note: Tested this workflow on Mac OS X 10.10 "Yosemite." HAVE NOT YET TESTED on a Windows PC or older version of Mac OS X.

The Automator workflow comes from here: http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=2013101622201160