While the invention of the computer and digitized information has certainly made our lives easier, 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.

For starters, you will want to keep your entire computer safe from those who would try to get into it. If someone stole your PC or laptop, what would the consequences be? Besides having access to your personal information they could also obtain sensitive work documents or personal information about your clients.

Those who run an office should consider setting an office-wide procedure of protecting important information, as doing so will protect your company from liability should files or even a computer go missing or get stolen. Any clients you have will expect you to keep their information safe. In any MS Office 2007 program you can protect your document by doing the following:

On the top-left of your document click the Office Button Click Prepare option and then select Encrypt Document from the list Enter a password and Save

If you have an older version of MS Office you can usually access the same features this way:

With your document open, go to File | Save As At the top of the Save As screen select Tools | General Options You will be presented with a Save Options screen Enter a password to open / password to modify or both and click OK You will be prompted to re-enter your password(s), 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 issues. 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 different ways to back-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 secure place where no one can get a hold of it, preferably fireproof as well.

2) Flash Drive: for a few dollars you can pick up a flash drive that is big enough to keep a copy of any files you may need. Best of all a flash drive is portable and can go anywhere you go, or squirreled away safely where someone cant find it.

3) Online Storage: Storing your files online is safe and simple, with the added bonus that your files are available wherever you are in the world. For a small monthly fee you will have a folder set aside on a secure sever that only you can access.