Adopting Safer Habits: Encrypt with Password in Office

Are you working with sensitive information in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or Excel?

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It is wise to take some extra precaution before storing in Google Drive, sending as an attachment, or transferring it to your laptop to work on when you are on the road.  

A reasonable option is to use the “Encrypt with Password” option that is available in all Office programs in the File menu by selecting Info

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When you select this option, you will be prompted to provide a password that will be required to every time you open the document.

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The longer password the harder it would be to crack using a brute force method.  A strong password can be achieved by using 8-20 characters that includes letters, numbers and special characters.

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Then you will be prompted to confirm the password.

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Once you have confirmed the password, your file has been encrypted.

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When you go to open the document, you will be prompted for the password.

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Should you forget the password, you will not be able to access the file.  Make sure you keep the password in a safe place that is only accessible to you.

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Should you want additional security on a file you might consider using GPG for Mac to encrypt your confidential files.