Seven Necessary Steps to Secure Your Spreadsheet

In our daily lives, we are very careful in every aspect, but we tend to be careless when it comes to our Excel spreadsheets. The safety and security of our Excel spreadsheets is something we need to be cautious about. The internet is overfilled with horrifying stories about Excel spreadsheets containing confidential and sensitive data being misused or data errors overlooked that cost businesses millions of dollars. 

These mishaps could have been avoided with common tools at our fingertips while using excels sheets. These tools are available to all Excel users that help to protect your Excel sheet data from being misused or stolen. 

Here Are Some Steps You Can Consider to Secure Your Spreadsheet.

Secure Your Excel File With a Password

Let us assume that you work on encrypted Google Sheets, so every time you send the Excel spreadsheets to collaborators, you entrust them with your work and expect them to safeguard it. So before you entrust somebody with your spreadsheets, consider securing it with a password. After you have protected it with a password, the files cannot be opened or modified without entering the correct password. This way, you can protect your spreadsheets from falling into the wrong hands or being misused.

Let us assume that you work on encrypted Google Sheets, so every time you send the Excel spreadsheets to collaborators, you entrust them with your work and expect them to safeguard it. So before you entrust somebody with your spreadsheets, consider securing it with a password. After you have protected it with a password, the files cannot be opened or modified without entering the correct password. This way, you can protect your spreadsheets from falling into the wrong hands or being misused.

Add Sensitivity Label

Often times you want to excel to web application files to be shared with collaborators from outside your company, and you want to maintain who can edit or view it. This can be done by adding a sensitivity label over the file. If your Excel spreadsheet contains highly sensitive and confidential data, applying a sensitivity label is the best way to maintain control of the data. 

Lock Cells to Prevent Any Changes

We often share Excel spreadsheets with various collaborators, which increase the chances of risking your data. The more hands your spreadsheets reach, the higher the chances of messing or damaging the structure and formulas you put effort into. When you share your file, anybody can add or remove data, so it is best to lock certain cells or columns to ensure your hard work is not ruined.

Hide Cells and Columns

When you work on large spreadsheets, you know the importance of hiding certain cells or rows. When you do so, you can focus on the areas you are actively working on. At the same time, you can easily do ways with the rows or cells you don’t wish to view or edit. So when you share the spreadsheet with any co-author, you can ensure your data is secured and protected.

Add Data Validation to Certain Cells

It is extremely important for a secure spreadsheet to keep away from errors or blunders. Whenever you manually add any data, there is a high chance that you may add or skip a decimal place or, even worse, add the data to the wrong cell. To protect yourself from these types of blunders that you or your co-authors can do, it is best to apply data validation the certain cells or rows.

Use Excel Forms

The Excel form is one of the best ways to avoid any data entry blunders. The Excel forms are an excellent way to reduce errors or confusion while entering data and sharing it among your collaborators. You can also use an online spreadsheet editor that allows you to create, edit, or view Excel sheets and share them with your collaborators. 

Use Trunao’s Online Tool

You can easily convert Excel to web, which takes your Excel data to the next level. You no longer have to worry about misusing or stealing your Excel spreadsheets. You can easily publish your Excel spreadsheets online without coding. You can simply store your Excel spreadsheets in online databases without the fear of losing your intellectual property. 

Use Trunao’s game-changing online Excel viewer and editor that allows you to create, edit or view Excel sheets from any device with the internet. To explore the benefits of Trunao, avail the 30 days trial today. 

Also View: Excel Needs to Change: Spreadsheets Must Give Way to Web Apps