Keep Important Office Documents Protected
While the invention of the computer and digitized information has certainly made our lives less complicated, it has also presented certain challenges. For instance, what do you do to keep your data safe? Virtually anyone with an Internet connection is able to locate documents on another’s computer, so you should take the required steps to make sure that anything they can access has no value. This means that you need to protect any document containing sensitive information.
If you have a home or office computer you will want to ensure that no one can get on it by locking it whenever you are away from your desk and ensuring that anyone trying to access your computer needs a password to do so. To set a password on your computer find your Control Panel and select User Accounts, then click the create password button. If you are on a network you may require your system administrator to sign in.
By placing a password on your entire system you are setting up a first line of protection against would-be data thieves. Adding a password takes just a few steps. From your Windows Start Menu go to the Control Panel and select User Accounts. Select the option to create a password. You will want to choose a password that cant be easily guessed by anyone.Should someone get past your system password or access your computer via the Internet then all of your documents will be vunerable unless you takes measures to protect them as well. Any document that you feel may do harm in the hands of someone else should be password protected.MS Office 2007 makes it very simple to password protect your documents through a few simple
In the top left-hand corner select the Office Button Mouse over Prepare, then choose Encrypt Document Type in your password and click Save
If you have an older version of MS Office you can usually find the same features this way:
Go to File | Save As Select Tools | General Options at the top of the screen The Save Options screen will come up Enter a password and click OK Re-enter your password(s), then click OK when done Save the file
To make sure that you can always access your important files you may need to record your password somewhere safe, otherwise you may not be able to access a file when you need to.
As a second form of file protection you need to keep your files safe from computer problems. Imagine all of your most sacred files are lost due to a power outage or a problem with your hard drive. With a few clicks you can backup your files so that nothing should happen to them if your computer fails.
There are several options when it comes to backing-up your files:
1) CD-ROM: Nearly every computer comes with a CD drive, so make use of it by copying your important files to CD-ROM every once and a while. You will have to remember to copy your files, and keep the CD in a safe place where no one can get a hold of it, preferably fireproof as well.
2) USB Flash Drive: Small, lightweight and easy to use, these portable drives are perfect for keeping files safe, as long as you dont lose it. Password protect the drive just in case, and keep track of it at all times.
3) Online Storage: This is a sure fire way to keep your documents protected while at the same time making sure that you can access them from anywhere in the world. This is definitely handy if you happen to travel for business, as you dont have to worry about bungling that big presentation if your laptop gets lost, simply log on and retrieve the file. You can set up your computer to automatically synch with the online service so you never have to worry about files being out of date when you need them.
