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Q216866: WD97: Summary Information Under Properties Is Not Encrypted

Article: Q216866
Product(s): Word 97 for Windows
Version(s): WINDOWS:97
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbfield
Last Modified: 14-NOV-2000

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Word 97 for Windows 
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SYMPTOMS
========

Information from the properties of a Word document (on the File menu, click
Properties) is not encrypted and can be read if a password-protected file is
opened using a text editor (for example, Notepad).
The contents of the following fields of the document properties are included in
the file data stream and are not encrypted with the document text:

Summary Tab:

  Title
  Subject
  Author
  Manager
  Company
  Category
  Keywords
  Comments
  Hyperlink base
  Template

Custom Tab:

  Checked by
  Client
  Date completed
  Department
  Destination
  Disposition
  Division
  Document number
  Editor
  Forward to
  Group
  Language
  Mailstop
  Matter
  Office
  Owner
  Project
  Publisher
  Purpose
  Received from
  Recorded by
  Recorded date
  Reference
  Source
  Status
  Telephone number
  Typist
  or any other custom field and value you add to the Custom tab.

Any text, value, or path information that is entered into any of the above listed
fields appears when a password-protected file is opened in a text editor.

The most severe security issues are the result of Word automatically populating
three of these fields without user intervention.

- The first 125 characters of the first paragraph are automatically included as
  the title if no information has been manually entered.

- The author's name is entered from the User Information tab (on the Tools
  menu, click Options).

- The company name from the installation is automatically entered.

WORKAROUND
==========

On the File menu, point to Properties and click the Summary tab. Clear any
fields that would cause security concerns for the document. Repeat these steps
for the Custom tab.

STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products that are
listed at the beginning of this article.

Additional query words: text editor security

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbfield 
Technology        : kbWordSearch kbWord97 kbWord97Search kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbnofix

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