How to password protect my documents on my computer

There are many ways to protect or limit access to a file on your computer. Applications like MS Word, Open Office and MS Excel have a password protection feature found in their settings. If you are not satisfied with the protection it offers, you can hide the document in a zip file or in any third-party program that offers password protection. Just remember to make a backup copy of the confidential file, in case you forget your password or for other emergency situations.

built-in security feature

Password protection comes as a default feature for programs used to create documents. Accessing it is easy, since you just have to look for it in the menus. If you aimlessly click on the items in the menu bar, you will surely stumble upon the security feature.

MS Word and MS Excel

The menu settings of MS Office programs are similar, so the security feature is in pretty much the same location. Once inside security, you can set the password for your document. Be sure to use one that is hard to crack, possibly random numbers and letters or something unrelated to you, so guessing the password is next to impossible.

Procedure:

1. Open a new document in MS Word or MS Excel.
2. After you finish your document, click Tools at the top of your screen.
3. Select Options. A smaller screen containing several tabs will appear.
4. Click the Security tab.
5. Put the corresponding passwords to open and modify the file.
6. Continue clicking OK until you return to your document.

In addition to putting a password, you can hide parts of the document by changing the font color to white. You can also enable other security settings to completely restrict access to your file.

PDF files

PDF file, being a common platform for creating documents, is blessed with a password protection feature. Also, its security measure can be further enhanced when bundled with third party programs. Not surprisingly, the PDF format is preferred in professions where a lot of confidentiality is involved.

Procedure:

1. Open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
2. Click the File menu at the top left of the screen.
3. Select Document Security. Then another screen will appear.
4. Press Security Options, and then select Acrobat Standard Security.
5. Once this is done, check the box next to “Password required to open document”.
6. Enter your password in the space provided.
7. On the same screen, you will find an option to put a password when changing the first password or permissions. Provide a password if you wish.
8. Click OK. A screen will appear asking you to confirm both passwords.
9. Retype both passwords. Take note, passwords are case sensitive, so be careful.

If you want to strengthen the password protection of Acrobat Reader, you can download third-party programs on the Internet for added security. Those programs allow you to easily encrypt the file and parts of the document, as well as provide another layer of password protection.

Protection through data compression programs

Some programs not only provide password protection, but also compress files and folders, so they take up less space inside your computer. Data compression programs are quite useful, especially when sending files via email. Given its features, you can safely send multiple files and folders, without exceeding the attachment limit, in a single email message.

WinZip

Protecting documents and folders with a password is easy with WinZip, one of the world’s leading data compression programs. You can simply activate the password feature when you are about to compress a batch of files. Once the files are compressed, they cannot be opened until the password you set is provided.

Procedure:

1. Let’s say the files and folders you want to password protect are in My Documents. Double-click My Documents on the desktop.
2. Right-click on a file, which displays a list of options.
3. Select “Compress to .zip”. This automatically creates a new zip folder.
4. Right-click another file, and then select Copy.
5. Go to the zip folder via WinZip and then right click on the empty blank space (the section where the zip file is stored). Select Paste.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for all the files and folders you want to compress and password protect.
7. When you have entered all the files, select File at the top left of the WinZip screen.
8. Click Add a password.
9.Provide the password for the Zip folder and then confirm it.

Zip files are versatile. You can compress any folder or file you choose, including the My Documents folder. It’s a good move when your computer’s memory is almost full, given the space-saving features of the zip file.

WinRar

WinRar, like WinZip, compresses files and supports a wide variety of file extensions. It can also restore damaged files and is more resistant to file corruption than most data compression programs, which makes it quite popular. Best of all, you can get it for free on the Internet.

WinRar works just like WinZip. The procedure to password protect files is exactly the same, only you have the option to convert the zipped folder to a RAR file. WinRAR seems to be the best choice for data compression protection as its security features give it a distinct advantage.

To serve and password protect

The password may be a basic form of protection, but over the years it has proven to be an effective means of file security. Also, correctly guessing a password is no easy task, which is why it is the means used to protect your email account or credit card information. Give your files the same amount of security by protecting them with a password.