---
title: "How to Password-Protect a Backup in Plesk"
description: "Turn on password protection for Plesk backups to encrypt the database and mail credentials inside them, and see why keeping that password matters for restores."
url: "https://docs.noiz.ie/plesk/how-to-password-protect-a-backup-in-plesk/"
section: "Plesk"
categories:
  - "Control Panels > Plesk > Backup & Restore"
last_reviewed: "27 July 2026, against the current Plesk Obsidian release"
---

# How to Password-Protect a Backup in Plesk

Password protection encrypts a Plesk backup so that the sensitive data stored inside it, including your database user passwords and mail account credentials, cannot be read by anyone who obtains the backup file. This guide shows you how to turn password protection on for backups of your Noiz Plesk hosting account. In the Plesk interface this feature is labelled **Password Protection**; you may also see it referred to as backup encryption.

**Last reviewed:** 27 July 2026, against the current Plesk Obsidian release. This guide is written for Noiz hosting and is kept current against Plesk. It complements, and does not replace, the official Plesk documentation linked below.

### Official Documentation Reference

- [Plesk Documentation and Help Portal](https://docs.plesk.com/) (Obsidian, Customer Guide: Backing Up and Restoring Websites)

## Prerequisites

- A Noiz hosting account on Plesk, and your login details for the Plesk control panel.
- A password manager or another safe place to store the protection password. Noiz cannot recover it for you.

## Turn On Password Protection for Backups

### 1. Log in to Plesk

Sign in to your Plesk control panel with your account credentials.

### 2. Open Backup & Restore

Go to **Websites & Domains**. On the domain you want to back up, open the expand (pull-down) icon to show the full list of tools, then choose **Backup & Restore**.

![Opening Backup and Restore from Websites and Domains in Plesk](/img/plesk-account-backup-manager-access.gif)

### 3. Open Remote Storage Settings

In the Backup Manager, click **Remote Storage Settings**.

![The Remote Storage Settings button in the Plesk Backup Manager](/img/click-remote-storage-settings.gif)

### 4. Edit the Password Protection setting

Find **Password Protection**. If it shows **Disabled** on the right, click **Change**.

![Password Protection shown as Disabled with a Change link in Plesk backup settings](/img/password-protect-backup-in-plesk.gif)

### 5. Set a password and apply

Tick **Use password protection**, enter a password, and click **Apply**. From now on, new backups are encrypted with this password.

![Ticking Use password protection and entering a password in Plesk](/img/enable-password-protection-in-plesk-backup.gif)

## Why This Matters, and the One Thing Not to Forget

Store the password somewhere safe, because you will need the exact same password to restore a protected backup. Noiz does not hold a copy of it and cannot reset it, so if it is lost the encrypted contents of that backup cannot be recovered.

The password protects more than the files themselves. It also protects the credentials Plesk stores inside the backup. If you restore a backup and either enter the wrong password or the backup was created without password protection, Plesk cannot decrypt the stored database credentials, so it restores your databases with newly generated random passwords instead. Any application that connects to those databases, such as a WordPress or other CMS configuration, would then need its connection password updated to match. Keeping the correct password to hand avoids this.

## Need a Hand?

If you are on a Noiz managed plan, or you are unsure about your backup and restore setup, contact Noiz support and the team will help you configure and verify it.

---
Source: https://docs.noiz.ie/plesk/how-to-password-protect-a-backup-in-plesk/