Protecting sensitive data is a top priority for any Linux or macOS user. While the tar command is excellent for bundling files, it doesn't have a built-in "password" flag. To secure your archives, you need to combine tar with an encryption tool.
gpg --decrypt backup.tar.gz.gpg | tar xzvf - password protect tar.gz file
Historically, using the -z flag with a password was simple, but often led to compatibility headaches. Worse, many modern implementations of tar have actually removed native password support for compression, forcing users to rely on the openssl method mentioned above. Protecting sensitive data is a top priority for
Make it executable: chmod +x secure-tar.sh password protect tar.gz file
You’ll be prompted to enter and verify a password.