A ZIP file is typically used to compress large files into a smaller footprint so they can be shared easily in a single archive. Since data security has become a big concern in recent years, it's a good idea to apply a password restriction for access, especially if the files inside contain sensitive, private or confidential information. But what happens when you forget the password for a ZIP file? How can you unlock the ZIP with or without password? This article shows you how to unlock a ZIP file when you know the password, and when you have forgotten it.
When you are trying to open a password-protected ZIP file, a pop-up box appears, asking you to input the correct password before opening or unarchiving the document. If you knew the password, then it is a straightforward process to unlock the ZIP file.
Step 1: Download and install a free ZIP utility like 7-Zip or PeaZip.
Step 2: Open the zip app on your PC and import the locked ZIP file. You can do this by right-clicking on the file in Explorer.
Step 3: When prompted for the password, enter it and extract the files to a new folder.
Step 4: Now the zip file is unlocked, and you can access the decrypted content in the folder with the extracted files.
Note: The password is provided by you, and 7-Zip will provide the key. These two work together to unlock your file or, in other words, decrypt the ZIP file's content.
Unfortunately, 7-Zip does not offer a way to crack a ZIP password or even unlock a ZIP file that is password protected. To do that, you need a special tool, which has been outlined in the next section.
The password recovery process is complex that requires the right tools. Androidphonesoft ZIP Password Unlocker is perfect for this purpose because it preserves the integrity of ZIP file data throughout the process. This trusted application is used by millions of users being struggled with forgotten ZIP password.
To recover the password, the software uses advanced password cracking techniques. Furthermore, the hardware acceleration feature lets the program utilize your CPU cores and your GPU to complete the task upto 10x faster! If you have a locked ZIP file on your hands, this is the tool for you. Follow
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Download Androidphonesoft ZIP Password Unlocker and install it. From the first screen, click the icon at left side to add zip file to the program.
Define the attack method and associated parameters before commencing the password crack.
Brute Force Attack - This attack type does not require additional parameters to be set because it attempts all possible password combinations of varying lengths. It takes longer than other methods, but your ZIP password is sure to be cracked 100% of the time.
Dictionary Attack - Not frequently used because it requires wordlists, which are collections of possible passwords that have been curated for this purpose.
Combination Attack - This is the recommended attack type because it balances speed with effectiveness.
Mask Attack (Preferred) - This type is faster because you will be providing certain known parts of the password. For example, if you remember that your password begins with your first name, mention that as a parameter. This prefix will then be appended to the password combinations attempted by the software.
In this part, we will use Mask Attack as example because it is much faster than other attacks.
Once the attack type is defined, click on Recover to begin the cracking process. You will be able to monitor the progress on the screen. When the password has been recovered, you will see an option to directly open the ZIP file from within the program, or you can just copy it and open the file in the regular manner.
The best part about this utility is that you don't have to worry about your data being corrupted. Nothing is touched because the tool only recovers the password. It doesn't attempt to open the file on its own because the key is required for that. All it does is make the password available to you so you can open the file with a normal archive utility, even WinZip.
Is it possible to unlock a ZIP file without using any software? The anwser is No in the past but it is 100% valid because of emerged cloud computing services. This sort of online service works as a mainframe computer and combine serveral PCs into a centralized machine in order to release more computing power to the remote users.
When doing a search query in Google, you will find a lot of services claiming it is able to crack password from protected ZIP file. However, the truth is that most of them are scammers and very dangerous to the data. Please go ahead and test it out if the ZIP didn't contained important data.
One final note about password security. Any password that you apply to a file to keep the information inside confidential needs to be unique, long and hard-to-guess. Don't use the same password for different files, because if one document is hacked, all the others are vulnerable to the attack as well. To avoid this, you can try using a random password generator, and then save that in a locked Excel file with a master password. That way, you'll only need to remember one password, not several of them.
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