Whether you’re writing personal documents like short stories, tracking your family’s taxes and expenses, or holding important and sensitive information for a business, you will want to keep your files secure so that only you and authorized people can see them.

Data and file security have been a big issue pretty much since the inception of the PC, and tech companies have continuously tried to devise ways to keep your information and your files safe. Threats such as unauthorized access and corrupted or deleted files will always be present. However, there are things you can do to help keep your documents protected and secure.

1. Two-Factor Authentication

Suppose you have an important document containing sensitive information, such as a contract offer or payslip. In that case, you will want to do what you can to ensure that only authorized people can see it – and this is where two-factor authentication can help keep your documents secure.

This technology works by prompting you to enter a password that can only be obtained through another device or account that’s registered to you. For example, you can set two-factor authentication on your Microsoft 365 documents so that you’ll have to enter a code that was sent to either your phone or email address.

Another added benefit of having two-factor authentication is that these messages or emails asking for a code can alert you to someone trying to access your documents and then choose to prevent them from gaining access.

2. Manage Permissions

If you’re using the cloud within a family or business to share and organize your files, you have to manage who has permission to access which documents. It’s easy to set up permissions and put restrictions on some users but not others; however, the more people that are involved in a cloud system, the tougher this can get.

If you’re in a large business with multiple people, organizing who has permission for each file can become cumbersome. To help with this headache, you can use a company like avepoint.com, which can manage these permissions for you, amongst other useful services as well.

3. Keep Copies of Important Documents

To make sure that crucial files aren’t ever lost or destroyed, it’s good practice to make copies of these documents. Files can easily become corrupted or accidentally deleted, which may result in you losing something important.

To prevent this, back-up copies of your files and save them in a different location to the original, such as on the cloud, a flash drive, or an external hard drive. This means that if you’ve been hacked or if your PC breaks, you’ll still be able to access the files that you need.

4. Conclusion

There are a few other ways of protecting your documents, both at home and at work. However, the ones mentioned in this article are believed to be the most important and easiest to fulfill.

By managing permissions, setting up two-factor authentication, and saving copies of your data, you’re doing much more than the average person to ensure that your documents remain secure and safe.