Most people who use Excel do so because of the ease it stores figures and calculates within rows, columns and worksheets. It is also an excellent program to use as a basic database for addresses, phone numbers and other personal information. For these reasons Excel files can be a primary target for data thieves looking for valuable data.
Those who put sensitive information in their Excel files, particularly about other people, have a responsibility to take measures to protect that information and keep it safe from thieves or other dishonest people. Information in the wrong hands can have detrimental results, for you, your company and the people whose information is compromised.
Imagine that you run a market-traded company and you are putting together a statement showing your company’s progress over the last quarter. You notice a mistake in the file that makes it look like your company has lost millions of dollars, but since it is the end of the day you leave it for the morning. Overnight your files are hacked and the statement is released to the general public over the Internet. What do you think will happen to the company stock? All because the Excel file wasn’t password protected.
Protecting an Excel File (Workbook)
With a few easy steps you can protect your data:
- 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
Advanced Options
If your file is extremely important and you want to ensure that no one can access your files, even when using password cracking software, look into Advanced Options on the Save Options screen. Here you can select an encryption level and the key length and Excel will encrypt the entire file, so that if someone should gain access to it they wouldn’t be able to decipher the data inside.
Protecting an Excel Worksheet
On occasion you may want to share data with others, but you don’t want anyone to be able to edit what is inside. This is how you protect a worksheet:
- On the Main Menu select Tools
- Place your cursor on Protection and select Protect Sheet
- Enter a password, click OK and then re-enter password
- Click OK to finish
By default the first two options <Select locked cells> and <Select unlocked cells> will allow users to click on cells but will not let them change any data contained in the workbook. If you want to allow the users to be able to add information to the worksheet you can click the appropriate options to allow them to do this, or give the person who needs to make changes full access to the file with the password.
With these options you can make your information safe from those unscrupulous persons who would try to profit from it. Password protecting a file is easy and takes only a few moments, so the next time you have a sensitive file open take the time to keep it safe from prying eyes.
Tue, Dec 23, 2008
Excel