I use Microsoft Word. How can I password protect a document before e-mailing it? Can anyone get the password off my computer, say, in the temporary files? I want to e-mail a letter, but I don't want other people to read it.

First, thanks for sending in your question. I bet that there are many people who need to know the same thing. This information not only applies to Word. You can use it in other Office programs, such as Excel, too.

There are several ways to protect your Word documents from prying or nosy eyes. You can also use this information for documents you e-mail or store on your PC.

I do have to tell you up-front that protections offered by Word aren't foolproof. That doesn't mean password protection isn't useful. It's just important to know its strengths and weaknesses. When e-mailing important documents, this protection can add a degree of security.

Encrypting a document is a good way to add security. Someone trying to open the file will have to enter a password. If the file is intercepted, it will be difficult to open and see its contents. You can have greater confidence when e-mailing documents. So, let's start with that.

Encrypt a Word document

Word 2007: In an open document, click the Office button; Save As. Click on Tools; General Options. Put a password in the "Password to open" field. Click OK. You'll be prompted to reenter the password. Click OK.

The encryption in past versions of Word got a bad wrap. It was weak. Accomplished

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criminals could easily break it. Office 2007 uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), which is much stronger.

AES may cause problems when you e-mail the files. Older versions of Word will not open AES encrypted files. If your recipients have an older version they'll need a special download. The Microsoft Compatibility Pack will allow them to open the files. It's free for the taking at my site. Click here.

Word 2003: In an open document, click Tools; Options. Then select the Security tab. Put a password in the "Password to open" field. Click OK. You'll be prompted to reenter the password. Finally, click OK.

Weaker encryption

This version of Word has weaker encryption. But you can change the encryption type. The default setting is very weak. You should make it something stronger.

When entering your password, click Advanced next to the open field. You'll see a list of encryption types. Choose RC4, Microsoft Strong Cryptographic Provider for the strongest protection. This is still weak. But it's better than the default setting.

Word Mac: In an open document, click Word; Preferences. Select Security from the list on the left side of the window. Put a password in the "Password to open" field. Click OK. You'll be prompted to reenter the password. Finally, click OK.

You can also use passwords to prevent changes in original documents.

Protect your documents!

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