Encrypting and archiving files

When sending sensitive information outside of the college, you may be required to encrypt the files to protect the information from falling into the wrong hands. The following steps will show you how to password protect Microsoft Word documents, Adobe Acrobat PDFs and compress files to a password protected archive.

Password Protecting Microsoft Word Documents

1. When you have a Word document open, go to "File" and select "Info"

2. Click the "Protect Document" and in the following drop down menu select "Encrypt with Password"

3. A popup box will appear for you to assign a password to this document. It would be a good idea to have a separate copy of this document saved in case you forgot the password.

4. Before exiting the document make sure you save your changes if you want the password protection to stay!

Password Protecting Adobe PDFs

1. When you have a PDF open on the right hand side in the "Tools" column select the "Protect" shield symbol. If this isn't present here, you can also select the "Tools" tab near the top of the document.

2. This will open up a new header near the top of the document. Select the "Encrypt" drop down menu and select the "Encrypt with Password". A popup window will ask if you are sure you want to make that change and select yes.

3. The Password Security Settings window will now open and from here you can select the checkbox "Require a password to open the document" and input the password of choice. A confirm document password box will open giving you one more chance to backup your PDF if you already haven't.

4. The last step will be to then save the changes to the PDF in order to keep the encryption.

Password Protecting an Archive

If you have a large amount of files that need to be sent or you if want additional protection, you can also compress and encrypt them into a .zip archive.

1. From the save location of the files you want archived, either click and drag or SHIFT-click the files.

2. Once selected right-click and highlight "7-Zip". On the pullout menu select the "Add to Archive" option.

3. A new window will open up and give you the opportunity to name the archive along with adding a password. You may also want to check the box that says "Encrypt file names".

4. Once you select OK your new archive will populate in that same folder with a .7z extension.

It is important to note that if you plan on password protecting other Microsoft Office files, you would follow the same steps as the Word Document example. If you are unable to add password protection or create a compressed archive, please contact the Bay College IT Help desk:

For assistance please contact either IT Help Desk:
Location: Escanaba JHUC 908M
Phone: 906.217.4025
Email: ithelp@baycollege.edu

Location: Iron Mountain Help Desk
Phone: 906.302.3025
Email: ithelp@baycollege.edu