I really don't want to become the TMF's resident encryption expert, so if we have a member who has more expertise than I have (really, it wouldn't take much; I'm not that good) please step forward and I'll bow out.
Anyway, Kirk, the buzzword which will lead you to digital nirvanna in this context is "Encryption".
At the same time, the act of following web searches based on this buzzword will lead you into the world of charlatans (e.g., <I> "...we will pay anyone a thousand dollars if they can break our algorithm..." </I> or make it a zillion dollars or whatever) and the impossible (and ridiculous) claims of outright liars and fake-o-max marketing dudes.
For the time being, what I'm guessing is that for your immediate purposes (and pay attention to the fact that I'm guessing and don't know the first thing about your circumstances) you will be reasonably satisfied with the Zip-and-encrypt strategy.
Here's how that strategy works,,,
-1- You probably already have a "zip" program on your computer somewhere.
-2- What you do is "zip" the files in question like normal, but,,,
-3- Before you zip them, you first check the box which allows you to add a password to the process.
This will give you a zipped file that needs a password to be unzipped. This usually will keep 99% of everyone you know (if you are not in the software business) out of your affairs, which is normally good enough for more than half the people in the world.
Do be aware that the scheme I've just described can be broken by the CIA, FBI, et.al., in less than 60 seconds in most cases, so don't think you're going into international espionage with this technique, okay ?
If there are others interested in this topic, let's start some threads in the technical or general discussion forums. We'll get into more stringent schemes if there's sufficient interest and legitimate need.
