One customer writes in to ask:
“How can I make attachments secure when sending emails?   Is there a way I can have them password protected for WORD docs or PDF’s?”

This is a good question!  Last time I wrote about www.transferbigfiles.com.  This would be the easiest way when sending by email.  When there, click Advanced Options to set a password on the file before you send it.

On the other hand, most applications allow you to set a password for the files they create.  For example, QuickBooks lets you password protect your company file.  MS Office allows you to password protect their files.

For Office 2007 instructions: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA101483331033.aspx
For Office 2003 instructions: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/products/yourself/office2003.mspx
(the above include options for MS Word, Excel, Power Point, etc)

To password protect a ZIP file, or Compressed Folder, in Windows XP: Open the zip file, choose the “File” menu, select “Add a Password.” Enter the password and confirm the password.

To password protect a PDF you need a real PDF application, not just the free ones.  For example, Foxit, or Adobe Acrobat.  Foxit Pro allows you to password protect PDFs, as well as annotate, search, copy text, create forms, spell check, and tons more.  It’s well worth the $39.  Or, you can just send with a password using transferbigfiles.com.

For other applications, search for “password” in their help system and you should quickly get your answer.  Or just ask in the comments and I’ll look it up for you.

Tags: Passwords, PDFs, Word Documents, ZIP Files
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