How to unzip files with password in Linux (simple guide for beginners)

Oh, that Linux thing, like that TV box my grandson plays with. Now, this “unzip password” thing, it’s like when you got a jar of pickles sealed tight, and you need that little trick to pop it open, right? I hear folks talkin’ ’bout it, sounds mighty complicated. But my grandson, he’s good with these computer things, he told me a thing or two.

So, this here unzip, it’s like, you got a whole bunch of stuff crammed into one thing. Like when I pack all my quilts into that old trunk. You want to get one quilt out, you gotta open the whole darn trunk. That’s what this unzip does. It gets the stuff out of that, what do they call it… a “zip file.” Yeah, like one of them zippers on my old coat, but for computers.

Now, that password, that’s like the lock on my old shed. Keeps the nosy neighbors out, you see. If you got a zip file with a password, it means someone don’t want just anyone peekin’ inside. Like my secret recipe for apple pie, gotta keep that under wraps!

So you wanna unzip with password in Linux, eh? Sounds like you got one of them locked-up files. My grandson, he says there’s some kind of… “command” you gotta type in. Like givin’ the computer a secret handshake. He showed me once, all these letters and numbers, looked like chicken scratch to me. But he says it works.

• You gotta know the password, of course. Ain’t no good tryin’ to open my shed without the key, is it?
• Then you gotta type this “unzip” thing, I reckon.
• Then some other mumbo jumbo, with a dash and a “P” or somethin’. That’s for the password, he said. You put a big P, not a little one.
• Then you gotta tell it what the password is, right after that P. No spaces, or it gets all confused.
• Finally, you put the name of that zip file thingy. The one you wanna open.

It’s like sayin’, “Hey computer, open this here box, and here’s the key.” Only you gotta say it in computer talk.

I hear some folks use somethin’ called “7z” to open their files. Don’t ask me what it means, it all sounds like gobbledegook. But apparently it works too, if that other “unzip” thing don’t do the trick. My grandson mentioned it, somethin about the x and the archive name. I don’t know, it all sounds the same to me, but you do what you gotta do.

Now, if you don’t know the password, well, that’s a tough one. It’s like trying to guess the combination to old man Johnson’s safe. Might take you forever. Best thing to do is ask the person who gave you the file. They should know the password, unless they’re playin’ tricks on you. I don’t like no tricks, no sir.

Some folks say there ain’t no magic password that works for everything. That’s like sayin’ there’s a key that opens every door in town. Don’t sound right to me. Each lock is different, just like each password, I reckon. I have to keep telling my neighbour that. She keeps losing her keys and trying to use mine.

This whole Linux unzip password business sounds like a lot of work. But I guess if you gotta get into that file, you gotta do what you gotta do. It is like those times I have to get into the cookie jar. I know I’m not supposed to, but I just have to do it. Just remember that password, or you’re gonna be stuck starin’ at that locked file, just like I stare at that cookie jar sometimes, wishin’ I could get in.

I remember one time, my grandson tried to show me how to do all this on his computer. He was clickin’ and typin’ so fast, my head was spinnin’. He said somethin’ about “automating” it. Like makin’ the computer do it all by itself. Sounds handy, I guess, if you got a lot of these zip files to open. My grandson is always trying to automate something, bless his heart.

He was talkin’ ’bout a “shell script” too. Sounds like somethin’ you’d find on the beach. But apparently, it’s another one of them computer things. He said you can write down all them commands in this “shell script”, and the computer will remember them. Like writin’ down your grocery list, so you don’t forget what to buy at the store. Although I never remember to take my list with me, I always leave it on the counter. My grandson says that’s just like him and his computer code, he forgets to put in the important bits.

This unzip command in Linux, that’s the key, I reckon. Just like the key to my pantry, where I keep all my good preserves. You gotta use it right, or you ain’t gettin’ in. And you gotta have the right password, or it’s just a useless piece of metal, like that old rusty key I found in the garden last year. Don’t know what it opens, but it sure ain’t openin’ any zip files.

There was somethin’ about a “lab”, too. My grandson used that word. Like they’re doin’ experiments in there or somethin’. Maybe they’re tryin’ to teach folks how to use this unzip thing. Probably got all sorts of fancy computers in there, not like my old radio. It is older than my grandson, but it still works, kind of. It just needs a good whack sometimes.

I always said, if you need to keep something safe, put it in a box with a good lock. These zip files and passwords, that’s like the modern version of that, I guess. But instead of a box, it’s a computer file. And instead of a lock, it’s a password. Same idea, just a whole lot more complicated. I’m glad I have my grandson around to help with these things, I don’t think I could manage on my own. These new fangled things confuse me.