Stuck with a VBA document that’s password protected? Here’s how to pick the lock.
It’s not unusual to take ownership of someone else’s Excel documentBefore Sharing an Excel Spreadsheet, Make Sure You Do These Things FirstBefore Sharing an Excel Spreadsheet, Make Sure You Do These Things FirstSharing is a convenient way to collaborate on Excel workbooks, but before you put your Excel files in the hands of others, prepare your worksheets for sharing with these tips.Read More, especially in the workplace. Usually, the transition goes smoothly — but there are pitfalls that can cause some real headaches.
For instance, six months down the line you might try edit one of the VBA macrosThe Excel VBA Programming Tutorial for BeginnersThe Excel VBA Programming Tutorial for BeginnersVBA is a Microsoft Office power tool. You can use it to automate tasks with macros, set triggers, and lots more. We'll introduce you to Excel visual basic programming with a simple project.Read More that’s integral to the spreadsheet, only to find that it’s password protected. What happens now? Well, with a bit of tinkering behind the scenes, it’s not too difficult to remove that protection entirely.
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Here’s how to eliminate password protection from a VBA document in Excel. It might just make you think twice about how secure your spreadsheets really are.
How to Set Up a Password
If you need to crack a password560 Million Old Passwords Have Leaked Online560 Million Old Passwords Have Leaked OnlineIt's probably time to change your passwords again. Because a huge database of 560 million login credentials has been found online, waiting to be discovered by ne'er-do-wells.Read More, you may already be aware how to set one up. However, it’s still worth laying out how this kind of protection works.
Head to the Developer tab in Excel and click Macros.
In case you don’t see the Developer tab, go to File > Options and then Customize Ribbon. Now move the Developer command group from the left pane over to the right.
Once you selected Macros in the Developer tab, enter a name for your macro (it’s just an example, so the specifics don’t matter) and then click Create.
Copy and paste the following code into the Visual Basic Editor. This is a simple macro that will enter the quoted text into cell A1. It serves no real purpose, but we need something to protect with a password.
You should end up with something that looks like this.
In the Visual Basic Editor, navigate to Tools > VBAProject Properties.
Head to the Protection tab and you’ll be able to set a password. You’ll also need to check the box labeled Lock project for viewing.
Click OK, make sure to save your Excel document as an XLSM file, and we can test out whether our password works. Close your document and reopen it, then head to the Developer tab and click Visual Basic.
When you try to access the relevant VBAProject, you’ll see a password promptHow to Password Protect Windows 10How to Password Protect Windows 10Your computer is a goldmine of personal and private information. Luckily, Windows 10 has a raft of locking methods to help protect your data. Let's take a look at how you can password protect Windows...Read More. Now we can figure out how to remove this kind of protection.
How to Remove a Password
Now for the difficult part, although it’s really quite straightforward once you know what you’re doing. First, we’re going to need to download a hex editorWhat A Hex Editor Is & Why You Might Use It [Technology Explained]What A Hex Editor Is & Why You Might Use It [Technology Explained]Read More. If you don’t have one already, HxD is a good free option, but there are plenty of alternatives available.
Our process differs slightly depending on whether we’re cracking a password in an older XLS file or a newer XLSM file. If you’re working with the former, feel free to skip the next section.
Preparing Our XLSM File
We need to perform a little extra preparatory work to remove a password from an XLSM file. Find it on your hard drive, then rename it, adding .zip onto the end.
Next, open it with archive compression softwareThe Top 3 File Compression & Extraction SoftwaresThe Top 3 File Compression & Extraction SoftwaresNeed to compress a large file? There's no shortage of file compression and archiving apps for Windows. But which file zipper is best for you? Here are our three top picks.Read More like WinRAR or 7-Zip. You should find a folder labelled xl.
Inside this folder, you’re looking for a file with the name vbaProject.bin.
Extract this file and open it with your Hex Editor.
Disabling the Password
Here’s where being able to set up a password comes in handy. Create a dummy Excel document, add a macro into it, and set a password as described at the beginning of this article. Next, we’re going to take the Hex code that stipulates what the password is, and we’ll insert it into the file we want to access.
Once you have that file set up, save it and perform the same process we did a minute ago so that you end up with another vbaProject.bin file. Make sure to remember the password4 Reasons Password Managers Aren’t Enough to Keep Your Passwords Safe4 Reasons Password Managers Aren’t Enough to Keep Your Passwords SafePassword managers are valuable in the ongoing battle against hackers, but they don't offer sufficient protection on their own. These four reasons show why password managers aren't enough to keep your passwords safe.Read More!
You should now have both of your vbaProject.bin files open in your Hex Editor. Don’t get them mixed up or we’re going to have big problems.
Use Ctrl + F in the file you created to find the following string:
![Excel Macro Password Remover Excel Macro Password Remover](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125713279/471075283.png)
This is the start of the code that stipulates the current password. We need to copy and paste three values:
Below you can see how I did it.
Transfer this code over to your other vbaProject.bin file, and place it in the corresponding position, making sure not to delete anything else. Save your edited hex file.
Now, delete the original vbaProject.bin file from the document we’re trying to remove the protections from. Replace it with your edited vbaProject.bin file, then change its filename back from .zip to .xlms or .xls.
Open up the file in Excel. Head to the Developer tab and click Visual Basic, and try to access the Project menu. You should see the password prompt, and with any luck, the correct password should be the one we set up in our dummy document.
We’re back in the document! Now you can get along with whatever you were meant to be doing.
Notes on Beating the System
This trick can be very handy when you’re in a bind, and you desperately need access to a password protected VBA macro. However, it should also illustrate a major security flaw that’s present in Excel.
If you’re using this kind of password protection to defend your VBA code, know that a workaround is out there. It’s a deterrent at best — anyone with the ability to run a Google search will know exactly how to cut through your defenses.
It just goes to show how important it is for us to constantly question our security practices. Applying password protectionHow to Password Protect & Encrypt Your Microsoft Office FilesHow to Password Protect & Encrypt Your Microsoft Office FilesWould you mind if someone peeked through your OneNote notebooks or had access to your Word documents? If your answer is yes, let us show you how to protect your Office files.Read More might seem to offer valuable piece of mind, but in a situation like this one, it’s not all that effective.
Do you have questions about removing password protection from an Excel document? Or do you have a security tip you want to share with others? Why not join the conversation in the comments section below?
Image Credit: OrelPhoto via Shutterstock.com
Explore more about: Data Recovery, Microsoft Excel, Visual Basic Programming.
- First time i copieed everything and file size changed , and i could not open it again,
Second time i removed all the empty or non readably characters ( and after that size was exactly the same in the password protected file) And it worked.
What you copy should look a bit like this:
CMG='989A3442384238463C463C'
DPB='33319F4627632763D89D2863B220F7E05C28D3AECFD1825B235C87DD4464FA97C4A406BFD1'
GC='CECC62E366E500E600E600' - This was so awesome... I forgot the password for my own codes which I created a year back. You just saved me from hours of rewriting the codes again!
- It's a little alarming how well this worked and how quickly I was able to get back into my file...but I'm also SO grateful this article exists and that this workaround actually did the trick. Thank you!!
- The code seems to notice when the size of the bin file changes causing the solution not to work. Maybe we need to do this on the same machine?
- Tried this serveral times
Get an error when reopening file
VBA is corrupt and has been deleted
????- I get this same error. File size changes and get the VBA corrupt message.
- My filesize also changed, but I got no error. It simply worked. I would suggest to try different hex editor. (Actually I used plain text editor, not hex editor. It was sufficient.)
Good luck!
- This trick worked for me perfectly !
I'm impressed and at the same time humbled by the fact that our defence are just candy joke for someone who knows how and where to look for answers.