Science and Engineering at The University of Edinburgh |
||||
|
||||
![[University Logo]](/icons/unilogo_25476c.gif "Link to The University of Edinburgh Home Page"){kind=icon}
Section Contents
Encryption Guidelines for Individual Documents
To ensure that confidential files remain confidential, password protect them with a strong, long password. This can be achieved by the in-built functionality within the software you are using.
Microsoft Office provides password protection capabilities but Office 2003 encryption is regarded as very weak and should not be used if at all possible. If Microsoft 2003 is being used , then you should ensure that Office 2003 Service Pack 3 is installed and the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack version 4 is also installed. This allows Office 2003 to use Office 2007 encryption, which is much more secure. These fixes are NOT installed in the XP managed Desktop and need to be manually installed. Contact ithelp for help in doing this on managed machines. However, the best solution is to have your machine upgraded to Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010.
| Software for Encryption |
Procedure |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Office |
Save As/Tools/General Options/Password to Open
|
| OpenOffice | Save As/Save with Password |
| creating a PDF In OpenOffice | Export to PDF/Security/Set Open Password |
| creating a PDF In Microsoft
Office 2010 (Windows 7)
|
Save as PDF/Tools/General Options/Password to Open |
| 7-Zip |
see http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/services/computing/desktop-personal/security/encryption/email ) |