OS X: Encrypt ZIP Files

Sometimes it’s convenient to distribute low-security information with a small added layer of protection, mostly to prevent casual eavesdropping. In this case, you might consider wrapping your files in a ZIP container and encrypting them. Simply:

zip -e <files> <archive.zip>

Things to know: ZIP encryption does not encrypt the whole archive container, but rather the individual files within that container. This means that, without knowing the password, someone can still list the archive’s contents, read any file comments, even add and remove files to the archive. This Security StackExchange thread has a discussion of the implications. For greater security, you may want to create an AES 256-bit encrypted disk image.