Password Protect Document

[Guest]

I password protected a Microsoft Word Document. I cannot
remember the password. Is there away around this?

 

[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
Microsoft Office MVP

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

 

[Edward]

Experts crack these passwords but I have seen quotes for Word and Excel
protected with pwds using mixed characters and case variations for $1,500 up
to six characters and over $3,000 up to eight characters. These are
multiplied by a number of contingencies such as length of time, type of
document etc. A professor friend of mine forgot hers and never recovered the
document. It proved cheaper to redo the work!!

Just to give an idea of how difficult it is.

Sorry to be the bearer of sad news...

Ed