I have files that contain passwords, social security numbers, etc. I used to worry about loosing a thumb drive or worse, having a computer stolen with this information on it. For Excel I have found that the built-in encryption option offers a good first line of defense. For all Microsoft Office Documents, like Work, Excel and PowerPoint, there is a built-in encryption that offers pretty good protection for any files that contain sensitive information. (File > Save as > Tools > Security Options > Advanced > RC4, Microsoft Strong Cryptographic Provider). (I have found that my phone was unable to open password protected files, so I have to setup copies of these secured files with "shareable" information, if I want to have access to it on my phone.) For an entire folder or drive encryption you can use True Crypt, which will create dedicated encrypted drive space which can be mounted as an additional drive letter. You can manually dismount when you want to make it unavailable, but more importantly, when the device is removed or the power is turned off, the drive is dismounted, leaving your files secure if the drive is lost or stolen. And don't forget to give honest people a chance to do what is right. Write your name and phone number on your drive and/or put a readme file in the root directory that provides your information. I also take a picture of my contact info and leave it on my cameras, in case they are ever lost.
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