Password protection

[dennis.mccarthy]

I need to protect 3 sheets in a workbook from being unhidden. I know
Excel has the password protection at the time you open and the
worksheet protection. I also know there is a large number of products
that can break these.

 

[dennis.mccarthy]

I need to protect 3 sheets in a workbook from being unhidden.   I know
Excel has the password protection at the time you open and the
worksheet protection.  I also know there is a large number of products
that can break these.

I am looking for a way to increase the security level - does anyone
know of a third party program that will secure it?

Thanks in advance

 

[JLatham]

You're on a virtual Mission Impossible. There is not way to keep a
determined person from eventually getting to anything in an Excel workbook.
As you've noted, tools for cracking workbook and worksheet passwords are
readily available and the level of protection is so weak that they all work
fast.

Here's the best I can offer (and is in addition to any password protection
you put on the worksheets and/or the workbook):

Step 1 - make the sheets as hidden as possible; preventing them from even
appearing in the Format | Sheet | Unhide list.

You need to get into the VB Editor to do this. Press [Alt]+[F11] to open
the VB Editor. If you do not see a small window labeled something like
"Project - VBAProject", press [Ctrl]+[R] or choose Project Explorer from the
View menu.

Next you need to be able to set the Visible property for the sheets you want
to hide well. You need to be able to see the Properties window for this - it
will be titled "Properties - ..." where ... is the object you have selected
in the Project window. Choose one of the sheets to be hidden in the Project
window. If you don't see the Properties window, press [F4] or choose
"Properties Window" from the View menu.

With the name of one of your sheets selected in the Project window, find the
Visible property in the Properties window and click on the setting which has
a drop down list, choose the "2 = xlSheetVeryHidden" option. Now that sheet
will not even appear in the list of sheets available to be unhidden in the
main Excel window. Repeat this for the other two worksheets.

While still in the VB Editor, choose Tools | VBAProject Properties. Select
the [Protection] tab and check the box next to the "Lock project for viewing"
setting and then enter/re-enter a password for the project. Be sure this is
either a password you can easily remember, or WRITE IT DOWN and put it
someplace safe. Password protection on the project is much stronger than on
worksheets/books, but is still susceptible to being cracked (I've got a tool
here that does it very well and quickly, myself).

Save and close the workbook. Open it back up and try to view things: press
[Alt]+[F11] to open the VB Editor. It will open, but you shouldn't see
anything of any use. If you try to expand any of the lists in the Project
window, it should request the password from you. That should stop all but
the most determined from being able to even see the sheet names of the well
hidden sheets.

Hope this helps you some.

 

[Jim Thomlinson]

That is still easy to get around. If the user has some idea that the sheet
exists then code similar to this

dim wks as worksheet

for each wks in activeworkbook.Worksheets
wks.visible = xlsheetvisible
next wks

Write the above code in one workbook. Activate the protected book. Run the
code...

IMO if you want secure then find another platform... XL is just not for you...
--
HTH...

Jim Thomlinson

You're on a virtual Mission Impossible. There is not way to keep a
determined person from eventually getting to anything in an Excel workbook.
As you've noted, tools for cracking workbook and worksheet passwords are
readily available and the level of protection is so weak that they all work
fast.

Here's the best I can offer (and is in addition to any password protection
you put on the worksheets and/or the workbook):

Step 1 - make the sheets as hidden as possible; preventing them from even
appearing in the Format | Sheet | Unhide list.

You need to get into the VB Editor to do this. Press [Alt]+[F11] to open
the VB Editor. If you do not see a small window labeled something like
"Project - VBAProject", press [Ctrl]+[R] or choose Project Explorer from the
View menu.

Next you need to be able to set the Visible property for the sheets you want
to hide well. You need to be able to see the Properties window for this - it
will be titled "Properties - ..." where ... is the object you have selected
in the Project window. Choose one of the sheets to be hidden in the Project
window. If you don't see the Properties window, press [F4] or choose
"Properties Window" from the View menu.

With the name of one of your sheets selected in the Project window, find the
Visible property in the Properties window and click on the setting which has
a drop down list, choose the "2 = xlSheetVeryHidden" option. Now that sheet
will not even appear in the list of sheets available to be unhidden in the
main Excel window. Repeat this for the other two worksheets.

While still in the VB Editor, choose Tools | VBAProject Properties. Select
the [Protection] tab and check the box next to the "Lock project for viewing"
setting and then enter/re-enter a password for the project. Be sure this is
either a password you can easily remember, or WRITE IT DOWN and put it
someplace safe. Password protection on the project is much stronger than on
worksheets/books, but is still susceptible to being cracked (I've got a tool
here that does it very well and quickly, myself).

Save and close the workbook. Open it back up and try to view things: press
[Alt]+[F11] to open the VB Editor. It will open, but you shouldn't see
anything of any use. If you try to expand any of the lists in the Project
window, it should request the password from you. That should stop all but
the most determined from being able to even see the sheet names of the well
hidden sheets.

Hope this helps you some.

I need to protect 3 sheets in a workbook from being unhidden. I know
Excel has the password protection at the time you open and the
worksheet protection. I also know there is a large number of products
that can break these.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

I am looking for a way to increase the security level - does anyone
know of a third party program that will secure it?

There is none. If someone has access to your file, they have access to
EVERYTHING in it, if they have the number and complexity of neurons to,
say, find these groups.

If you don't want someone to see your hidden data, don't include it in
the workbook.

One potential workaround would be to create a compiled COM add-in that
would store the data and perform any relevant calculations that are now
done in your hidden worksheets. It could then populate a workbook with
the results.

If your hidden sheets perform calculations on non-hidden sheets, the
add-in would need to detect the changes.

 

[JLatham]

I agree: if you want secure, don't go with Excel.

People associate passwords with security, but in the case of passwords for
workbooks and worksheets they should not be thinking "security" but rather
"protection for the structure of the book/sheet". And they shouldn't be
thinking that it's going to keep anyone with any knowledge of Excel out of
anything for more than a moment or two, literally.

The ones that crack me up are when I get a workbook that comes with threats
of dire consequences if the workbook/sheets are returned without a password
or with a password that differs from the one originally assigned. A sure
sign, to me, that the person that wrote the threat has no clue as to how
passwords work in Excel at all.

That is still easy to get around. If the user has some idea that the sheet
exists then code similar to this

dim wks as worksheet

for each wks in activeworkbook.Worksheets
wks.visible = xlsheetvisible
next wks

Write the above code in one workbook. Activate the protected book. Run the
code...

IMO if you want secure then find another platform... XL is just not for you...
--
HTH...

Jim Thomlinson

You're on a virtual Mission Impossible. There is not way to keep a
determined person from eventually getting to anything in an Excel workbook.
As you've noted, tools for cracking workbook and worksheet passwords are
readily available and the level of protection is so weak that they all work
fast.

Here's the best I can offer (and is in addition to any password protection
you put on the worksheets and/or the workbook):

Step 1 - make the sheets as hidden as possible; preventing them from even
appearing in the Format | Sheet | Unhide list.

You need to get into the VB Editor to do this. Press [Alt]+[F11] to open
the VB Editor. If you do not see a small window labeled something like
"Project - VBAProject", press [Ctrl]+[R] or choose Project Explorer from the
View menu.

Next you need to be able to set the Visible property for the sheets you want
to hide well. You need to be able to see the Properties window for this - it
will be titled "Properties - ..." where ... is the object you have selected
in the Project window. Choose one of the sheets to be hidden in the Project
window. If you don't see the Properties window, press [F4] or choose
"Properties Window" from the View menu.

With the name of one of your sheets selected in the Project window, find the
Visible property in the Properties window and click on the setting which has
a drop down list, choose the "2 = xlSheetVeryHidden" option. Now that sheet
will not even appear in the list of sheets available to be unhidden in the
main Excel window. Repeat this for the other two worksheets.

While still in the VB Editor, choose Tools | VBAProject Properties. Select
the [Protection] tab and check the box next to the "Lock project for viewing"
setting and then enter/re-enter a password for the project. Be sure this is
either a password you can easily remember, or WRITE IT DOWN and put it
someplace safe. Password protection on the project is much stronger than on
worksheets/books, but is still susceptible to being cracked (I've got a tool
here that does it very well and quickly, myself).

Save and close the workbook. Open it back up and try to view things: press
[Alt]+[F11] to open the VB Editor. It will open, but you shouldn't see
anything of any use. If you try to expand any of the lists in the Project
window, it should request the password from you. That should stop all but
the most determined from being able to even see the sheet names of the well
hidden sheets.

Hope this helps you some.

I need to protect 3 sheets in a workbook from being unhidden. I know
Excel has the password protection at the time you open and the
worksheet protection. I also know there is a large number of products
that can break these.