Our records clerk died unexpectedly on April 3, 2021 and took the password with him to the grave. The password (unknown by us ) is for an .xlsx spreadsheet that was created with the Open Office software recently. I have read, on the web, how to convert the file to a .zip file and delete the necessary line of code, thereby allowing us to open the file for viewing the spreadsheet, but cannot seem to get the job done. We are still locked out.
We even purchased 2 versions of software that said the program would retrieve the password, but to no avail. What a waste of money.
Can you help us in any way? I don’t care what the password is, I just need to open the file for viewing.
Roger Bovee, rlb289@gmail.com
“… how to convert the file to a .zip file and delete the necessary line of code…”
You seem to mix up very different things.
- LibO supports a very weak passwort protection for single sheets inside a spreadsheet document. This protects the sheets if the document is already opened. Such a protection is easily removed from a .ods (or .fods) file: But how to do it having a .xlsx file requires knowledge about the MS file-format.
- An .ods file may also be encrypted as a whole. The only way I know to crack encryption of the kind is “brute force”, and you can only start it with some hope to succeed if you have at least hints concerning parts or “properties” of the password so you can organize a systematic testing.
- The file follows MS Office specifications. You may find a specialist for their ways of encryption - and how to break it. A native LibO encryption with a “good” password you won’t break.
Are you being entirely honest, mr. Bovee, or are you lying to us?
The point in applying a password is to block access to content for those who do not know the password. Basically you are asking for assistance towards unauthorised unlocking. In most jurisdictions this would be unlawful. Are you asking us to commit a crime?
I doubt a crook would post openly such request.
A Senha é para abertura do arquivo ou de alguma planilha do arquivo ?
Is the password for opening the file or any file spreadsheet?
No @Astur, the question is for @ROGER_BOVEE.I have already contacted him.
Legal stuff first: You are usually allowed to crack own passwords, because you are only trespassing on your own rights - like breaking the door of your own house.
However, some countries had the idea to forbid the possession of hacking tools…
You wrote
but cannot seem to get the job done.
but didn’t tell why.
If you can see xml (cryptic text with lot of < characters) inside of the parts if the zip-file, there is hope to recover the contents.
If you cant remove the password You could use an editor for XML. Not pretty, but a first step.
If there is no structure inside - just garbled data - the file is not protected but encrypted. Chances for decryption are not good, if a complicated/long password is used.
And be careful: In your situation people try “something i found on the net” without checking for security…
J.
We are a small corporation in Toledo, Ohio that was established in 1877, making us about 144 years old. It was ( until last week ) a family owned business. I personally have been there for 57 years. The fact that the person took the password to the grave will not be “the straw that broke the camel’s back”, so to speak. I will, at this point, let the lawyers handle it. And NO, I am not a liar, as someone asked. Thanks for all of your concern. I will act accordingly.
When I not was retired, I was in charge of using/maintaining… some sensitive data, and there was a small range of that where I was the only one who knew the password.
I generally don’t write down passwords anywhere, but in this case I did and put a closed envelope containing the folded sheet into the safe - despite the fact that I knew that much too many people knew the key numbers to it. There are dilemmas we can’t escape.
The late person you talked of may have deposited something somewhere, and only failed to tell about in time. Are you sure you can’t find such a hidden sheet?
Did you read what Richard P. Feynman wrote about “Kerst’s safe”? (Surely you are joking… p151 in my print.)
… I will, at this point, let the lawyers handle it. And NO, I am not a liar, as someone asked. …
Good!
You may have taken offense at my question above. I am sorry for that.
However, given the setting I would have responded likewise again, because your polite and basically reasonable request still carries the potential for ill intentions.
- We, a randomly assembled community of more or less competent computer users, have no way to verify that you, a random individual registering on the community site, represent the rightful owner of the file in question.
We might be unknowingly committing a crime. - Similarly, you have little foundation (only our previous posting history and the “karma” reflection of that) to assess whether we are trustworthy.
You might accidentally expose confidential data.
Lawyers into the equation ensures confirmation of identity, ownership, integrity and confidentiality. It comes at a cost, but it is often worth it.
It may be a question for your legals.
I don’t know if there are cases where it is allowed to try to crack passwords (like in your case for example).
Since it is a OOXML file (.xlsx) and not native ODF, maybe there is a flaw in the export filter that would create a weak point. But I doubt someone in this site has any idea.
If the file was encrypted and written with LibO, to an alien format, I would expect LibO also to be able to decrypt it with the correct password. An ordinary brute-force attack can then be started with LibO using a spreadsheet like a batch file for the passwords to try. A single attempt -without success- needs about 300 ms on my old system. For up to 8 completely unknown characters (only restricted to about 80 characters easily typable) the full test would require about 160 Megayears of failure-free continuous work on my PC .
This is kind of common knowledge, and surely not aiding and abetting an unlawful action.
Agreed!
+1.