Password not working on Word documents

C

cherie

My password to open Word documents on XP is not working.
I've tried typing in all caps, sentence case, and lower
case. How can I disable or override the password on Word
files?
 
B

Beth Melton

It depends on how you protected it. If you used Tools/Protect Document
then you're in luck. Create a new document and use Insert/File to
insert the contents of the protected document.

Now if you protected it with a password to open then that's another
story. There are some password cracking utilities out there but the
success rate depends on what you used for the password and those that
actually work aren't free.

I created a password that contained numbers, symbols and alpha
characters both upper case and lower case, no words which can be found
in the dictionary, and used 9 characters.

I tested some popular password cracking software which claims they can
crack a password of any length provided it is a dictionary word, and
up to 9 characters using brute force. I let the utility run on a PC I
wasn't using for 123 hours, 49 minutes, and 5 seconds. It never
cracked the password - I finally gave up!

Also note that the utility uses so many resources it's next to
impossible to run additional software while it is running.

Something else to keep in mind, if you purchase such a utility you are
giving your credit card number to a known crack. <g>

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
 
J

jesse

Sorry to say but you can't. If you have lost, forgotten,
or for some other reason are unable to open a password
protected document, that's pretty much it. You can hire
one of many agencies available and actively posted on the
web to open them for you for a fee.

jesse
 

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