Whenever you open a file that contains code — a macro, an ActiveX control, or an add-in, for example — Office disables the code, and you have to use the Message Bar to enable the blocked content.

So why turn off the Message Bar? Because you can save yourself and your co-workers a lot of time.

Office provides several ways to turn off the Message Bar and run code safely, and this course explains the most secure options.

To learn more about this course, read the text in Goals and About this course, or look at the table of contents. Then click Next to start the first lesson.

Security I: How the 2007 Office system helps you to stay safer

How to tell if a digital signature is trustworthy

Security III: Sign your own macros for stronger security

If you're new to security, take the first security course, and read the article on trusting digital signatures, before you continue with this course. To learn how to sign your own macros, take the third security course.

This course explains several of the more advanced security features in Microsoft Office Word 2007, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Access 2007, Outlook 2007, Publisher 2007, Visio 2007, and InfoPath 2007.