You've finished the course. Do you feel secure?

You shouldn't. Although it's a good beginning, there is much more to being secure than what's covered in this course.

For more information, look at the Microsoft Security and Privacy Web site.

Use antivirus software

Install antivirus software and keep it up to date.

See this Web site for more information on antivirus resources, Anti-Virus Resources for Microsoft Office.

Keep all your software up to date

Always download the latest updates for your antivirus software.

Always download the latest security fixes from the Microsoft® Windows and Microsoft Office update sites:

• Microsoft Windows Update.
• Microsoft Office Update.

Use strong passwords

Strong passwords:

• Are at least seven characters long.
• Include both upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Do not use numbers or symbols in place of similar letters. For example, do not substitute $ for S, or 1 for l.
• Include a symbol character between the second and sixth position.
• Contain no repeated characters.
• Have no characters that are consecutive in any way; for example, 1234, abcd, or qwerty.
• Should look like a random collection of characters. They should not contain patterns, themes, or complete words (in any language).
• Do not use any part of your logon name.

Password-protect documents in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

1. On the Tools menu choose the Options command.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Choose which method of password protection you want to use.

Remember, the Password to modify option is not a security feature. The Password to open option is the most secure.

Set file encryption options

See this Knowledge Base article about the various types of encryption available KB article: Office XP encryption.

Privacy settings: remove personal information from file properties on save

In PowerPoint, Excel, Publisher, and Word:

1. On the Tools menu choose the Options command.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Select the Remove personal information from file properties on save check box.

   Information in the Author, Manager, and Company document properties is removed. The author's name is also removed from comments, tracked changes, and macros.

   This does not remove fields in headers and footers (such as "author name"). It also does not remove text or areas that have been hidden, customized properties, or links to other data sources that may contain personal authentication information.

In Microsoft Access, the check box is on the General tab of the Options dialog box.

Check macro security levels

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Click the Macro Security button.
4. Click the Security Level tab.
5. Look at which security level is selected. If it's not already set at High, consider changing it.

Understand digital certificates

See these articles for more information about digital certificates.

• Use Digital Signatures with Office XP.
• How to Tell if Digital Certificate Is Trustworthy in Office XP.

These three Power User columns walk you through the process of creating your own digital certificate:

• Use Office security features to increase macro safety.
• The Office security settings in depth.
• Using Office security features with your default folders.

Check a digital certificate

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Click the Digital Signatures button.

   In the Digital Signature dialog box you can see who signed the document, who issued the certificate, and the date the certificate was issued.

4. Click the certificate you want to know more about.
5. Click the View Certificate button.
6. Check the Issued to and Issued by fields to determine whether you trust its source.
7. Check the Valid from field to determine if the certificate is current.

Set up digital certificate revocation checking

Digital signatures expire or get revoked. You can set up revocation checking in Internet Explorer 3.0 or later.

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. Scroll down to the Security settings section at the bottom, and then select the Check for publisher's certificate revocation check box.

Check out this article for more information Digital Signatures: Let Office XP Check for Revoked Certificates.

Learn about certification authorities

Certification authorities are independent commercial bodies that issue digital certificates. To learn more about certification authorities that offer services for Microsoft products, see the Microsoft TechNet Security Web site.

Security settings

Here's a table to show how the various security settings interact with each other. Remember, you have to change the settings for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint separately.