Q189126: Microsoft’s Policy Regarding Missing or Invalid Passwords

Article: Q189126
Product(s): Microsoft Product Support Information
Version(s): 2.x,3.x,4.0,4.0a,5.0,6.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbdta
Last Modified: 18-DEC-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Mail for Windows, versions 2.x, 3.x 
- Microsoft Word 2000 
- Microsoft Excel 
- Microsoft Access 
- Microsoft Project 
- Microsoft Exchange 
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 
- Microsoft Outlook 2000 
- Microsoft Outlook 98 
- Microsoft Outlook 97 
- Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (all editions) 
- Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, 16-bit, for Windows, versions 4.0, 4.0a, 5.0 
- Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, 32-bit, for Windows versions 4.0, 4.0a, 5.0, 6.0 
- Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 for Windows 2000 
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SUMMARY
=======

In many of the programs listed at the beginning of this article, you can prevent
unauthorized users from opening a file by applying a password to the file. When
you attempt to open the file, the program requests the password; if you do not
enter the correct password, you are unable to open the file.

Also, there are certain features within these programs to which you can apply
passwords. For example, you can password-protect a project in the Visual Basic
Editor in the programs included in Microsoft Office 97 and Microsoft Office 98
Macintosh Edition.

This article explains Microsoft's policy regarding missing or invalid passwords.

MORE INFORMATION
================


Microsoft has added password protection to the programs listed at the beginning
of this article so that you can prevent unauthorized access to important
information. For this reason, if you are unable to access information because
you do not know the correct password,

MICROSOFT ENGINEERS CANNOT ASSIST, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, IN THE BREAKING OF
PASSWORDS APPLIED TO FILES AND FEATURES WITHIN MICROSOFT PROGRAMS.


It is technically not possible for Microsoft engineers to break the password on a
password-protected file or feature within a Microsoft program. The
password-protection systems built into Microsoft programs are designed to be
unbreakable; there would be no point in including a password-protection system
that could be broken.

If you are unable to open a file that is protected with a password, follow the
steps in the "If Your Password Isn't Working" section, below. If you are still
unable to open the file, Microsoft engineers cannot assist you. However, you may
be able to obtain assistance from a third-party password breaker.

Note that you may want to read the remainder of this article for suggestions
about how to effectively use passwords in the future.

If Your Password Isn't Working
------------------------------

In all of the programs listed at the beginning of this article, passwords applied
to files are case-sensitive. For example, the following passwords are all
different

  hello
  Hello
  HELLO

because the letters are in different cases in each password.

A common problem that occurs when you enter a password is to use the incorrect
case for one or more of the letters in the password. If your password is not
accepted, try the following:

- Press the CAPS LOCK key, and then enter the password again. If you remember
  holding down the SHIFT key when you originally applied the password, make
  sure you press the SHIFT key as appropriate, even if the CAPS LOCK key has
  been pressed.

- Enter the password using different combinations of upper- and lower- case
  characters. For example, if the password "hello" is not working, try "Hello".

- If someone else provided you with the file, check with that person to see if
  he or she still has the password.

If none of these suggestions work, you may want to take a look at the following
articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q84545 WD: Can't Recover Password-Protected Document If Password Lost


Third-Party Password Breakers
-----------------------------

There are third-party companies who claim to be able to break passwords that have
been applied to files and features used by Microsoft programs.

For legal reasons, Microsoft cannot recommend or endorse any of these companies.
If you require assistance in the breaking of a password, you may, at your own
risk, locate and contact a third-party company who can provide you with such
assistance.


Protecting Yourself Against Password Loss
-----------------------------------------

If you are finally able to open the file, you may want to apply one or more of
the following suggestions to make sure that the problem does not occur again:

- Change your passwords so that they are easier to remember. For example,
  "ty65dr58geT" is hard to remember. "Pyramid5" is easy to remember, but still
  a valid password.

- If you have a secure location, such as a safe or a safety deposit box, you
  may want to store a written copy of your passwords there.

- Also, you can save unprotected copies of your files to a floppy disk,
  removable hard disk, or other external storage device, and then store the
  disk in a secure location.

Password Recommendations
------------------------

When you apply passwords to files or features within Microsoft programs, you may
want to use one or more of the following suggestions to increase the security of
your files:

- Don't use words that are in the dictionary as passwords. Instead, use two or
  more words joined together. Or, use a combination of words and numbers. For
  example, instead of "dog", use "dogcat" or "dog5".

- Don't use personal information, such as names of family members or pets, your
  date of birth, social security number, or other similar information as part
  of a password. Since such information may be public, you should not use it in
  a password, even in combination with other characters.

- Use a combination of upper- and lower-case letters in your passwords. Since
  passwords are case-sensitive, you may be able to prevent a break- in if
  someone else hears, as opposed to sees, your password.

- Passwords should usually be at least six characters in length.

- Don't use obvious passwords like "password", "guest", "user", or "admin".

Employees and Passwords
-----------------------

A problem occurs when either of the following are true:

- One of your employees left your company. The employee used a number of files,
  some of which were/are password-protected. Now, the employee is gone, and you
  do not know the passwords for the files.

  -or-

- Prior to their departure/dismissal from your company, a disgruntled employee
  applied passwords to some of your files. Now, you are unable to open the
  files, and the employee refuses to reveal the passwords to you.

If either of these problems occur, remember that Microsoft engineers cannot
assist you in the breaking of passwords applied to the files.

To help prevent these problems from occurring:

- When employees leave your company, make sure that they either remove all
  passwords from their files or provide you with a complete list of all of
  their passwords. Also, make sure that you maintain correct contact
  information for the employees, so that you can get in touch with them should
  a password not work correctly.

- To protect your files from deliberate, malicious password application, make
  sure that you keep backup copies of all of your files. You should make backup
  copies of critical files on a daily basis; other files may be backed up as
  required.

- If you store your files on a Windows NT server, you can quickly suspend an
  employee's access to the server, thereby preventing the employee from making
  further changes to files. You can also prevent users from accessing files to
  which they do not need access.

A Note Regarding Microsoft PowerPoint
-------------------------------------

In Microsoft PowerPoint, you cannot apply a password to a presentation file; this
feature does not exist in Microsoft PowerPoint. However, in later versions of
Microsoft PowerPoint, you can still apply a password to a Visual Basic project.

Additional query words: workbooks worksheets documents databases presentations mail storage files PST projects forms schedules offline personal folders askmaxwell office

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Keywords          : kbdta 
Technology        : kbOSWin2000 kbWordSearch kbSSafeSearch kbSQLServSearch kbOutlookSearch kbIEsearch kbExcelSearch kbAudDeveloper kbAccessSearch kbPowerPtSearch kbIE600Search kbWord2000Search kbWord2000 kbZNotKeyword6 kbExchangeSearch kbExchangeClientSearch kbPowerPt2000 kbSQLServ2000Search kbZNotKeyword2 kbMailSearch kbPowerPt2000Search kbProjectSearch kbOutlook2000Search kbOutlook97Search kbOutlook98Search kbZNotKeyword3 kbIE2000Search kbIE600Win2000 kbSQLServ2000 kbMail3xSearch kbMail2xSearch kbSSafe600 kbSSafe400 kbSSafe400a kbSSafe500 kbSSafe16bitSearch kbSSafe32bitSearch kbExcelWinSearch
Version           : :2.x,3.x,4.0,4.0a,5.0,6.0
Issue type        : kbinfo

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