Peter Chernyak said:
I created a file in MS Word 97 and password-protected it. After long time of
not using it I forgot its password. Is there any way to open a
pssword-protected Word file?
Do a Google search for password crackers. If you're using a Mac (since
this is a MacOffice group), you'll need to use a service that allows you
to send them the file and they'll crack it for you. Generally takes a
few hours to a few days, depending the password and how many machines
the vendor can apply.
If you're using a PC, in addition there are a number of relatively
inexpensive applications you can purchase that will crack the password
on your machine. If your password was short, or if it used dictionary
words, they can crack it fairly quickly (minutes to hours). If you used
a longer, non-dictionary password, it can take hours to weeks, depending
on the length of the password and the speed of your machine. For rough
comparison, a random-character password of 8 characters might be
expected to be cracked in no more than a week or two with a fairly
up-to-date machine.
