How to Lock Down the Data in Your Apps
Your everyday office applications store more hidden information in the documents you create and work on than you may be aware of. Here's how to make sure you don't make data public that should remain private.
Why You Should Care: Embarrassing comments or proprietary information may reach unintended audiences.
Scenario: You're the accountant for a company whose board of directors has asked you to provide an executive summary of expenditures and revenue--a task that requires you to collaborate with several people. The draft of your report--written in Microsoft Word--changes hands for several days as various participants insert notes, questions, and maybe even a few impolitic gripes.
You clean up the document before submitting it to the board, but the comment "Do they really expect people to buy this crap?" (along with the name of the person who added it, and the time and date of its creation) hasn't vanished--it's simply hiding.
