Now you can reset or remove a password from a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file—with Office 2013!
This post describes how to use the new DocRecrypt tool and your company public and private key to unlock password-protected Office 2010 or Office 2013 Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files.
Password protected files with lost or forgotten passwords have plagued IT admins since the password feature was first introduced in Office. Now you can use the DocRecrypt tool to remove or reset the password on password protected documents.
Why password protect a document?
There are many good reasons to password protect a document. For example, when tax day looms and I gather my tax deduction and other data, I password protect my Excel spreadsheet before sending it off to my accountant. I have a lawyer friend who has to make sure documents are for the correct eyes only—or his job could be on the line. So he password protects his Word documents before sending them to his clients. The system works beautifully, until, for example, that document is suddenly crucial to a legal case and my friend and his password have retired to a condo in Arizona.
DocRecrypt to the rescue
One time setup is simple: configure the client computers, install the new DocRecrypt tool on the admin computer, make sure you have admin access to the private/public key pair, and the password protected file in question—and you’re set!
In slightly more detail, you’ll need to create one or multiple EscrowCert registry keys in the client computer registry either manually or through Group Policy. This EscrowCert key provides the link between the public key information that will be added to the file metadata when any new OOXML Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file is created, and the private key information in your org’s certificate store. If a user never password protects
that file, no biggie, the metadata does nothing. If they do password protect the file, that metadata can be used later, by you, with the help of the new DocRecrypt tool, to remove or reset the password.
The user happily goes about their business—documenting patent details, creating a spreadsheet with Q2 budget numbers, writing that important press release—and password protects these files so that the words or data don’t make an appearance too soon.
Then they forget the password. They move to a different department. They leave the company to “pursue other opportunities.” (Yes, it’s not just at your company.) And you must unlock the important work they left
behind. To unlock the document, open the command line DocRecrypt tool, and faster than you can say:
DocRecrypt -p <newpassword> -i <lockedfilename> -o <newfilename>
The file is unlocked or protected with a new (known) password, and it’s business as usual, once again.
But wait, there’s more!
This doesn’t just apply to Word 2013, Excel 2013, and PowerPoint 2013 files. Once the client computers in your organization have been configured (either individually or through Group Policy), any future Word 2013, Excel 2013, or PowerPoint 2013 files (docx, xlsx and pptx ) AND any existing password protected Word 2007, Word 2010, Excel 2007, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2007 or PowerPoint 2010 files they edit in Office 2013 can be unlocked or the password reset with the new DocRecrypt tool. Once an escrow key is added to a password protected file, it can be unlocked or reset even if it's been edited in Office 2010 or Office 2007.
For all of the details, please check out the new TechNet article, Remove or reset file passwords in Office 2013, and download the DocRecrypt tool from the Microsoft Download Center.
Comments
Anonymous
January 01, 2003
Here is another way to recover VBA password via VBA Password Remover Software. By the use of this software you can unlock VBA password without any VBA coding. For more information you can go for this linkhttp://www.en.vbapasswordremover.org/Anonymous
January 01, 2003
Thanks for such a nice blogAnonymous
January 01, 2003
If your ppt, pptx or pps presentation has accidentally become corrupt/inaccessible for opening with the original software, don't lose heart!
Visit:- http://www.recoverydeletedfiles.com/powerpoint-file-recovery-tool.htmlAnonymous
January 01, 2003
The comment has been removedAnonymous
May 28, 2013
May I ask, mentioned in the text of the fingerprint should use a personal user certificate or any other certificate?Anonymous
March 14, 2014
Hi Hardy, did you fixed your OpenStorage error?
If so, please share it.
Greetz,
JoepAnonymous
March 26, 2014
What i'm making wrong if i'm getting thi Kind of Error
C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeDOCRECRYPT>DOCRECRYPT -i a.xlsx
Input File:a.xlsx (inplace) Error: Error_NoCertToUse Last Result: 0x80004005Anonymous
April 02, 2014
I also have the same problem Error: Error_NoCertToUse Last Result: 0x80004005Anonymous
April 16, 2014
You will need certificate rights. What do you guys think? Without certificate it's hackers dream come trueAnonymous
July 17, 2014
P.Wilingson failed to read the article, as this pertains to Office 2013. Any and all VBA methods do not work on 2013 files.Anonymous
July 22, 2014
@Shivam, but I installed pub key certificate on .xlsx creator PC, private key certificate on IT Computer, after both cert installed made a new password protect xlsx, but still got this msg.Anonymous
August 26, 2014
Take care to install the public key of the certificate under "Certificates - Current User" --> "Personal". Otherwise you receive the Error: Error_NoCertToUseAnonymous
August 26, 2014
Take care to install the public key of the certificate under "Certificates - Current User" --> "Personal". Otherwise you receive the Error: Error_NoCertToUseAnonymous
September 20, 2014
i did open but nothing happen just a MS DOS windows and close it and thats it =( maybe a little bit of helpAnonymous
November 12, 2014
I can't open Doccrypt when I installed itAnonymous
November 30, 2014
Not usefull.Anonymous
December 01, 2014
hi i can't use it , i 've a problem with nocerttouse last result: 0x80004005Anonymous
February 11, 2015
I get the message "DOCRECRYPT.EXE" is wrong written or could not be found.
Any idea what my fault is?Anonymous
March 13, 2015
Can someone now how to step by step install the certificate require ? I have the nocertouse problem and i do not have any idea how to create or get the certificate.Anonymous
April 13, 2015
why:...
C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeDOCRECRYPT>DocRecrypt -p <123> -i -o
The syntax of the command is incorrect.
By:mamencrew@gmail.comAnonymous
April 13, 2015
C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft OfficeDOCRECRYPT>DocRecrypt -p 12345 -i percobaan.docx -o hasil.docx
Input File:percobaan.docx Output File:hasil.docx Error: Error_CannotGetFile Last Result: 0x80070002Anonymous
December 07, 2015
Has anyone overcome the problem with: Error_NoCertToUse Last Result: 0x80004005 ?