Security Alert:

Possible Exposure of Confidential Information in Microsoft Word Documents

Overview
Who is Affected
Explanation
Action— Windows Users
Recommended Action — Macintosh Users
For Further Assistance

I. OVERVIEW

In the past few months there have been several incidents where unintended information was visible via Word documents sent as email attachments.

II. WHO IS AFFECTED

Anybody sharing or distributing electronic versions of Microsoft Word documents.

III. EXPLANATION

Microsoft Word (versions 98, 2001 and X for Macintosh and versions 97, 2000 and XP for Windows) have a feature called "Fast Save." While this feature may improve the speed of saving documents, in some circumstances it can leave deleted portions of your document visible to those reading the document with a viewer or editor other than Microsoft Word. This could be a security issue if you have deleted confidential information from a document, or worked on several documents simultaneously, where some of the documents contained confidential information.

To avoid the problem, follow instructions in sections IV (Windows Users) and V (Macintosh Users) to be sure that Fast Save is disabled on your systems.

IV. RECOMMENDED ACTION - WINDOWS USERS

Do not allow Fast Saves.

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. From the Tools menu select Options.
3. Click on the Save tab.
4. Make sure that Allow Fast Saves is NOT checked.
   

V. RECOMMENDED ACTION - MACINTOSH USERS

Do not allow Fast Saves.

In Word 98

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. From the Tools menu select Preferences.
3. Click on the Save tab.
4. Make sure that Allow Fast Saves is NOT checked.

In Word 2001

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. From the Edit menu select Preferences.
3. Click on the Save tab.
4. Make sure that Allow Fast Saves is NOT checked.

In Word X

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. From the Word menu select Preferences.
3. Click on the Save option.
4. Make sure that Allow Fast Saves is NOT checked.

VI. FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE

For those seeking additional information, Microsoft has several FAQs on Fast Save.

Word 97:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;192480

Word 2000:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;214227

Word 2002:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;291181

 

 

Word 98:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;192433