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I'm a security man in search of security

I just created a folder on my desktop that will contain private information and I want to know if there is a way to secure this folder from unwanted eyes. No, my wife is not restricted as some of the info she will need access to. There are other family members that may want to peek at the info and I want to keep them out.

Ergo, is there a way to have this folder password protected? Or, is there a place on my computer I can store this folder that no one will be able to find? Please keep in mind I have an older Dell XP computer with MS word 2003. Also, I am not very computer literate so please be specific in your suggestions.

As always, thanks for your input.
"If you look to me for illumination, you better have a flashlight!"
For folders:

1. Select the folder you wish to encrypt.
2. Right-click the folder and click Properties.
3. Click the Sharing tab.
4. Check the box Make this folder private
5. Click Apply and then Ok.

For an MS Word 2003 file:

1. Open the document you want to protect.
2. Choose "Tools" then "Options".
3. When the "Options" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, click the "Security" tab.
4. Next to "Password to open" type in the password necessary to view the document. If you wish, click the "Advanced" button to choose a different encryption type than the default.
5. Next to "Password to modify" type in the password necessary to make changes to the document.
6. Click "OK" to close the dialog box.
Samantha


Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
Whilst those suggestions are spot on Sam, there are some prerequisites that need to be taken into consideration:

The drives which contain the private folder must be using the NTFS file system, AND he must have set up multiple user profiles with all profiles requiring a password to log-in as it is only possible to protect folders that are a part of the user's profile (i.e. folders inside of the 'My Documents' section).

So in addition to Sam's suggestions I also suggest reading this resource: http://www.home-network-help.com/folder-private.html

-Cub. =o)
Don't know if this would be what you're looking for Jim, but there is a USB thumb drive that offers security encryption for files. They're available at three levels, the personal being the cheapest. They're quite a bit pricier than regular thumb drives, but take a look and see if you need any of the features it offers. I haven't gotten one, although I've considered it for my work files.

www.ironkey.com
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Like I said, "as always", I knew you guys (and gals) would come through for me. Thanks for the input. I will get back with the results.
"If you look to me for illumination, you better have a flashlight!"
I racked my brains but I'm no match with the other big guns here. I was looking up Norton Internet Security - something I used to use for individual files I would put on discs or email, but I don't think there is any modern equivalent now that they stopped it.
David