Microsoft office and Windows Products blog

Office 2007/2010 provides us with several security methods to protect Office documents.If we do not want to hard other people to complete the document is free to read, copy, alter, depending on the circumstances you can use Office to provide security protection features protect the document.

In Office2007, we can click on the “Office Button”, select “ready”; in Office2010, we can click “File” tab, select “information” – “permission” – “Protect Document”, you can see Office offers a few kinds of security features: marked as final, is encrypted with a password to restrict editing, restrict permissions by staff, add a digital signature.

1 mark for the final state.
Marked as final can make Office the documents are marked as read-only mode, Office has been marked as opening a document, the final state will automatically disable all editing functions. However, the final state is not marked as a security feature, anyone can cancel the document the same way the final state.

In particular, Office2010, open a document marked as final in the top of the window when the eye-catching reminder of the document has been marked as final and display “still editing” button. Therefore, the final state is marked as only suitable for novice as well as to prevent the user has no intention to fool the casual button to modify the document, not suitable for protecting important documents. Moreover, in Office2007/2010 in the document marked as final, is still in Office2003 can directly edit, because Office2003 not marked as final function.

2 encrypted with a password.
Encrypted with a password is password protected Office document, which is in an earlier version of Office already popular protection. But the biggest problem the password protection feature is also easy to forget your own password. Once forgotten your password, use the Advanced Office Password Recovery only third-party tools such as password cracking, which may damage the document.

3. Restrict editing.
Limited editing features three options: formatting restrictions, editing restrictions, Start Enforcing Protection. Formatting restrictions can be selectively restricted format editing options, we can click on the bottom of the “set” to customize the format options; editing restrictions can choose to limit the type of document editing, including the “revision”, “comment” “ fill out the form “and” not allow any changes (read-only), “If we create a form, just want them to fill out the specified items, do not want them to modify the problem, you need to use this feature, we can click on the bottom of the ”Exceptions (optional)” and “more users” for limited user-defined; start to force protection by password protection or user authentication method to protect documents, this feature requires Information Rights Management (IRM) support.

4 limit access by staff.
Limited access by staff or by WindowsLiveID Windows user account restricted access Office 2007 download documents. We can choose to use a set of administrative credentials issued by the enterprise or manually set the “restrict access” to protect Office documents. This feature also requires Information Rights Management (IRM) support. For use Information Rights Management (IRM), we must first configure the Windows Rights Management Services client program. This procedure has been included in the Windows7/Vista system, WindowsXP system requires a separate download and install.

5. Add digital signatures.
Add a digital signature is also a popular security protection. An encrypted digital signature technology as a foundation to help reduce business transaction and document security-related risks. To create a new own digital signature, we must first obtain a digital certificate that will be used to prove the identity of individuals, usually from a trusted certification authority (CA) to obtain. If we do not own digital certificate, you can obtain the Microsoft Partner OfficeMarketplace, or inserted directly in the Office of the signature line or stamp signature line.