Secrets of Microsoft Word: Keeping Private Information Private
Shawn C. Monk, J.D.
August 17, 2005

This article explores ways in which Microsoft Word can allow users to inadvertently share private and/or personal information with others. In addition, this article will provide Microsoft Word users with some simple steps they can take to protect themselves.

Ah, Microsoft Word. Probably the single, most-used piece of software in any office, including mine. However, what most Word users fail to realize is that every time they create, edit or save a document, a piece of themselves are stored within it. Now, I realize that I sound like I’m channeling Crazy Horse (who held the belief that a photograph of a person stole a piece of their soul) and while I can’t confirm or deny his belief, I can confirm that Microsoft Word stores more than just the data you type. The good news is that there are some simple steps you can take to limit your exposure!

At one time or another, most of us have used Microsoft Word with other users to collaborate on a document. Often we use the Track Changes feature which records the changes made by subsequent editors/authors throughout the review process. Once enabled within a document, this feature remains active, tracking change after change by user after user. The concept of tracking changes was introduced to ensure that editors of Word documents would be able to have their changes noted, so that they could be accepted or rejected as the original author saw fit. A noble and very useful tool, no?

Well, the downside of storing all of that information is that unless the final user takes steps to ensure that all of those saved changes are removed, they’ll continue to be stored within the document. Before the widespread use of the Internet and e-mail, this posed little problem for the unintended release of information as documents were rarely shared in their electronic form. Today, however, these documents are routinely generated and then posted to a departmental website for students to download or e-mailed directly to students or parents as attachments. Are you beginning to realize the potential embarrassment this may cause?

Perhaps an actual example would be helpful. Imagine you work for a mid-size, private university and that you are charged with reviewing students’ SAP (Satisfactory Academic Progress) appeals. Imagine that being the organized person you are, you create a form letter that you can modify at will to indicate whether a particular student’s appeal has been approved or denied. Imagine that you want feedback on your form letter, so you enable the Track Changes feature and send it for review. Imagine that you receive the revised letter back and decide to expedite your notification to students by sending them an e-mail with the acceptance/rejection notice attached. Well, what happens if you personalize the letter by changing the name and address for each student before you e-mail it to them? If you answered that the original information is retained and can be accessed by the student, you are absolutely correct. Even though you can hide the editorial markup in a Word document by clicking Markup from the View menu, it isn’t deleted, just hidden. If the next person to have access to the electronic document wishes to see the changes, they just have to repeat the process.

The solution? As the final reviewer of the document, you should go through the document, right-click on each revision and select either Accept Change or Reject Change for every revision mark. Just remember to repeat this process each time you change the document in the future (future changes will be recorded as well). To ensure that you are constantly reminded, you can use the Options menu in Microsoft Word to turn markup on automatically each time you open a document that is tracking changes. Just select the option to “Make hidden markup visible when opening or saving” and for added security, you can also select the “Warn before printing, saving or sending a file that contains tracked changes or comments” and the “Remove personal information from file properties on save” options as well! (See the arrows on the image for each option)

I hope this tip helps prevent you from making any potentially embarrassing disclosure, either for yourself or your department! If you have any questions or suggestions for future articles, please send them to Shawn Monk at smonk@amsa.com.

Shawn Monk, J.D. is a Technical Solutions Consultant for the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) guarantor American Student Assistance® (ASA). ASA’s mission is to help students successfully complete a program of higher education financing and repayment. As a self-avowed techno-geek, Shawn works with financial aid offices to help them streamline their business processes and incorporate new technology to meet students’ rising expectations. Currently based in Dayton, Ohio, Shawn lives with his wife, seven computers, two cats and a dog, and may be reached via e-mail at smonk@amsa.com.

©2005 American Student Assistance. This article may be reformatted and reproduced for distribution by any non-profit or not-for-profit organization without obtaining the consent of the author provided that the copyright notice, author and author’s biography are included within any subsequent republication.