Microsoft's Web site didn't give me a lot of answers, so I ended up checking the help menu from my copy of Access. I learned that there are some strategies for securing Access, but none of them is very good. Here are the techniques I found out about:

Encryption/decryption: This is the simplest method, but it only prevents the database from being opened by a tool or utility it doesn't recognize, like a word processor. It doesn't prevent anyone from opening an unsecured database using Access.

Show or hide objects in the database window: This is just a smoke-and-mirrors tactic and can easily be circumvented.

Start-up options: The database creator can specify a start-up form that opens automatically when the database opens. Again, it's smoke and mirrors.

Passwords: You can set up a password to the database, but only one. You wouldn't be able to open the database without the password, but you would have to give everyone who needs to access the database the same password. That's not a good practice. And if you replicate databases, as users do in my agency, you can't configure it for a password-upon-open option.