Can't remember document password

Question

Original Title:"Document passwords"

Hello, I set a password on a Word document and can't remember it. Is there any way at all to override it? I'm desperate! Help appreciated. Thank you

Answer 1

As has been noted, finding out a password requires a lot of work. Perhaps you saved an unlocked version recently enough to be of assistance. Try clicking the Time Machine icon on your dock and use Time Machine to locate the copy saved most recently before you locked it.

Answer 2

No.  There is no way to override the password on a document created in a recent version of Word.  There used to be, in the old Word formats, but the new password mechanism is a lot tougher.

In the old Word formats, the password was actually stored in the document.  In the new one, the password is not stored in the document, it is used as the encryption key for the entire document.  So if you have the correct password, the document is readable: if you haven't, it's not, not even by Microsoft.

As J.E. said, if you search the Internet, you will find companies that claim to be able to crack the password.  Whether their claims are true or not depends on how complex your password was: if you know how to set a secure password, it may take them more than a year to crack it.

If you are entirely comfortable with giving your credit card details to someone who cracks passwords for a living, then I guess you will find out.  Personally, I would not dare.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

The forum rules for this Microsoft Answers site bar posting information about overriding security features of Microsoft products.

A general search engine may give you options.