Me to the office: Does anyone know how to create a password protected Zip file on a Mac?
Reply: Use Windows
Well actually this advice is ‘bobbins!’ Windows still can’t do this without installing an application, (I would recommend 7-Zip). But with a Mac of course you can 🙂
Solution
First open an Terminal window, then ‘change directory’ to the folder that contains the uncompressed file(s), or folder(s) you want to Zip.
Changing Directory With Spaces In Your Foldernames
I thought I’d better put this here, if you have spaces in your folder names, you use the following syntax;
And repeat if you have multiple spaces like so;
Mac OSX: Create a Normal Zip File
Before we try and password protect a Zip, file let’s see how to create a simple one;
Sometimes when troubleshooting VPN traffic, you may choose to use the ‘packet-tracer’ command to simulate interesting traffic. I did this today and got;
[box]
Phase: {number}
Type: VPN
Subtype: encrypt
Result: DROP
Config:
Additional Information:
Result:
Drop-reason: (acl-drop) Flow is denied by configured rule
[/box]
I replicated the error on the test bench.
Solution
Below is the full packet trace;
[box]
Petes-ASA(config)# packet-tracer input inside tcp 192.168.254.1 www 10.254.254.10 www
Phase: 1
Type: ROUTE-LOOKUP
Subtype: input
Result: ALLOW
Config:
Additional Information:
in 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 outside
Phase: 2
Type: UN-NAT
Subtype: static
Result: ALLOW
Config:
nat (inside,outside) source static Obj-SiteA Obj-SiteA destination static Obj-SiteB Obj-SiteB no-proxy-arp route-lookup
Additional Information:
NAT divert to egress interface outside
Untranslate 10.254.254.10/80 to 10.254.254.10/80
Phase: 3
Type: ACCESS-LIST
Subtype: log
Result: ALLOW
Config:
access-group outbound in interface inside
access-list outbound extended permit ip any any
Additional Information:
Phase: 4
Type: CONN-SETTINGS
Subtype:
Result: ALLOW
Config:
class-map class-default
match any
policy-map global_policy
class class-default
set connection decrement-ttl
service-policy global_policy global
Additional Information:
Phase: 5
Type: NAT
Subtype:
Result: ALLOW
Config:
nat (inside,outside) source static Obj-SiteA Obj-SiteA destination static Obj-SiteB Obj-SiteB no-proxy-arp route-lookup
Additional Information:
Static translate 192.168.254.1/80 to 192.168.254.1/80
Phase: 6
Type: NAT
Subtype: per-session
Result: ALLOW
Config:
Additional Information:
Phase: 7
Type: IP-OPTIONS
Subtype:
Result: ALLOW
Config:
Additional Information:
Phase: 8
Type: VPN
Subtype: encrypt
Result: DROP
Config:
Additional Information:
Result:
input-interface: inside
input-status: up
input-line-status: up
output-interface: outside
output-status: up
output-line-status: up
Action: drop
Drop-reason: (acl-drop) Flow is denied by configured rule
[/box]
This is an annoying error, that is difficult to solve. The reason you are seeing this error is because the ACL that defines the ‘interesting traffic’ for the VPN, does not a MIRROR IMAGE ACL on the OTHER VPN endpoint. As soon as this was rectified the packet-trace ran successfully.
We would be lost without the good old USB Key/Thumb drive in this day and age, now the floppy drive is officially dead its our primary method of moving files and software about.
I have the habit of leaving both CD/DVD’s in clients servers and my thumb drive onsite because I have a head like a sieve =[ I did this the other week, and thankfully I was going to be away on course for the following week, so I didn’t need it, and the client in question was kind enough to post it back to me.
But what if I had done the same with a client who wasn’t so friendly? have a good think about what you keep on your USB Drives, I keep all manner of sensitive configurations and details on mine that I wouldn’t want falling into the hands of a computer savvy network type.
So I set out to find a freeware application that would secure my USB key for me, so If I was dim enough to leave it somewhere or worse still loose it, the best the finder could do was wipe it and use it themselves, lets be honest, USB keys are cheap it’s the data that’s on them that is valuable to you.
So I fired up Google and searched through the usual freeware sites etc – and (as usuall) every application I found that was supposed to be free was limited to 30 days or was really not free at all. Until I came across USB Vault 1.02 This little application not only protects your files it encrypts them to 128 BIT AES that’s very powerful encryption! Lets put that into context, if you built a PC that could break DES (56bit encryption – considered relatively weak now) in one second, that same PC would take 149 trillion years to break 128 bit AES so – good enough for my stuff then, here’s how to set it up.
Solution
1. Freeware sites like Tucows carry the software, but it’s made by the good folk at Cyclone Software Products.
2. Double click the program and it will extract to a temp location.
3. Plug in your USB Drive > Next.
4. Tick “I Agree” > Next.
5. Select your USB Drive in the drop down list > Next.
6. Enter, then confirm a password (DO NOT Ever forget this password, you need it to decrypt your files).
7. All done > Click Finish.
8. On your USB Key you will see the program that you will need to use “USBVault.exe” > Double Click It.
9. The first time you run it, it will ask you to enter an email address – remember you got the software for free, put your Email address in!
10. On your desktop you will see the “Vault Door” you can drag it around if its in the way. Double Click it
11. Type in the password you entered in step 6.
12. Right Click the “Vault Door” and select “Hide with Encryption.”
13. I tend to create one folder on the USB Key (In this case called Vault). Then put everything in there. Open that folder select everything you want to protect and DRAG it over the “Vault Door”.
14. The files will be encrypted, I had a 2Gb Key with about 256Mb on it and it took 5 min’s to encrypt the lot, time for a coffee then…….
15. All done. > OK.
16. You will notice all the files have changed, they now have a .enc extension on them (after the normal file extension). To open them, if you are on another PC simply double click them. (NOTE USBVault has to be running – its on the root of the drive remember 😉
17. Enter the password. (NOTE if you allready have USBVault running and have entered a password you will not need to do this.)
18 The file will be decrypted, note when you are finished launch the UBSVault.exe again, drag the file back over the Vault door and it will be re-encrypted.
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