how do i open a file whose password is forgotten ?

[Guest]

i have a user who passworded his WORD file, he forgot the password to the
file but needs to open the file. how do i help him?

 

[Tony Jollans]

how do i help him?

By giving him a crash course in common sense. If he had a combination lock
on something - his safe, his bicycle, whatever - he would make sure he
remembered the combination, wouldn't he? Why should his document password be
any different?

needs to open the file

Sorry. He can't. This is an often-asked question to which there is no good
answer. I read in last week's New Scientist that quantum computing is now,
perhaps, less than a decade away so password cracking may become viable in
the future - of course there will be new security techniques by then as
well - but for now it can't be done. He can try giving his credit card
number to one of the many people on the web offering to crack security if he
wants but they don't have a magic bullet or anything.

 

[Guest]

I have had varying success with WordKey, to extract passwords from old files.
All the Best
DeanH

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

If he is entirely comfortable giving his credit card details to someone who
cracks passwords for a living, search the web for "lost word password".

There are several websites that claim to be able to do this.

Hint: Let him use his OWN credit card

i have a user who passworded his WORD file, he forgot the password to the
file but needs to open the file. how do i help him?

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John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410