Note: This review covers the beta version of the software. Check back later for a review of the final version.
SendShield works to save you from accidentally sending Office files with author data, tracked changes or other potentially sensitive data as an attachment in Outlook.
When you attach a Word, Excel or Powerpoint file to an Outlook e-mail, SendShield (currently in beta) automatically scans the attachment. After a few seconds it displays a colored bar at the top of the e-mail body to let you know whether the attached file contains author data, tracked changes, comments or other data you might have overlooked, and might not want to send.
Click the alert bar for an option to see just what data triggered the alert, and to clean all or some of that information out of the attached file. You'll change only the attached copy of the document, and the original file on your hard drive will remain unchanged.
You can also choose to convert the file to a .pdf, which automatically swaps in the converted .pdf for the original Office attachment.
SendShield is free during its beta period while the company works on the software, but the developer does warn that during this time it will contain bugs and may cause data loss. The company hasn't yet decided how much the software will cost when it goes final this summer.
SendShield's safeguard is nearly effortless and well-designed, and could save you from embarrassment or worse if you habitually e-mail Office files. But while its beta status makes it free, it may mean dealing with some bugs.
Note: This link takes you to the vendor's site, where you can choose between trials for the $59 Standard and $79 Professional versions of the software.
--Erik Larkin
Reviewed by: charlestask
Reviewed by: dpejcha
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