Introduction to PROTECT

GuardWare PROTECT encrypts and secures all file types, including MS Office documents, PDFs, images, videos, and AutoCAD files. It ensures files remain protected from unauthorised use and theft, whether stored locally or shared externally via USB, cloud drives, email, or other methods. Only authorised users and applications can open protected files. These users and applications are configured in the GuardWare Management Console by administrators.

End users interact with GuardWare PROTECT Agent through the Windows Explorer right-click menu. From there, you can protect sensitive files by applying classifications, restricting access to specific Security Groups, limiting file circulation, adding an expiry date, and so on.

• If you use Save As or Export to save a protected file in another format or extension, the new file will also be protected.
• If an unprotected file contains sensitive data, it will be automatically protected when saved. Sensitive data types are defined by your administrator in the GuardWare Management Console.
• Auto-save and OneDrive sync are enabled by default while editing protected Office documents. If you want them disabled, contact your Administrator.
• If you send an email with an encrypted attachment to an external recipient, PROTECT shows a warning message indicating that the email contains encrypted files and is addressed to an external recipient. External recipients must receive an invitation from GuardWare and must have GuardWare PROTECT installed to open encrypted files.
• The GuardWare PROTECT Chromium Extension enables seamless uploads and downloads of PROTECT-encrypted files on authorised websites. When you upload a protected file to an authorised website, the extension automatically decrypts the file before upload. When you download the file from the same website, the extension automatically re-encrypts it. The list of authorised websites is configured through the GuardWare Management Console.

Security Group

A Security Group is a set of users within your organisation who have specific access permissions. When a file is protected, only members of authorised Security Groups can open or modify it; all others are restricted, ensuring it remains secure and accessible only to authorised users. For example, you might allow only the Finance group to access payroll reports or only the HR group to view employee records.

Security Groups are created by an administrator in the GuardWare Management Console. Any new user who installs GuardWare PROTECT Client and logs in successfully is automatically assigned to the default Security Group called All Users.