- Outlook stores all its data inside "
PST" files, which can be password-protected: people will still be able to open the program, but will only see a prompt (screenshot below). Because PST encryption is crack-able by a determined hacker, consider using drive encryption for sensitive data, and always locking your PC (Windows logo key + L), when you step away from your computer.
Note: Microsoft doesn't provide a password recovery mechanism, so be sure never to forget that password! This tutorial will also show you how to add a password hint.
- Click on the File button (top left - MS Office orb in Outlook 2007), and choose "Info" on the left.
- Click on the "Account Settings" button and pick "Account Settings":
- Click on the "Data Files" tab to get a list of all PST files Outlook currently uses.
- Double-click on the file you want to protect (or select it and click "Settings").
- Click Change Password (it always says that: Outlook sees "no password" as being a blank one).
- Leave the "Old Password" field blank. Make sure that CapsLock is turned off, and type a password between 1 and 15 characters-long in "New password" and "Verify password":
- Although the "Save this password in your password list" checkbox seems to defeat the purpose by remembering your credentials, it targets a specific scenario. This option protects your PST file, but spares you from having to enter its password from the current computer, while logged in as yourself. Should you share that file over a network, or copy it onto another machine, it would require a password to be opened. This case assumes that you handle your own security by preventing access to your PC (e.g., locking it whenever appropriate).
Click OK to save. Tip: use the "Comment" text box to give yourself a password hint - make it easy enough to help you, but hard enough to prevent others from guessing it!
- Click OK, and repeat the process for any other PST files in the listing.
- Click Close.
- Restart Outlook, for testing purposes: you should get the "Outlook Data File Password" prompt.
- To change your Outlook password, follow the same steps: enter your current password in "Old Password", type the new one twice, and click OK.
- To remove the password protection, use the same procedure: but this time leave the "New password" and "Verify password" text fields blank before clicking OK.
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