Unviewable password protected vba project unviewable password protected vba projects are less secure than the equivalent locked projects recovery information has be. I found this guide davidbugden. Reopen the xlsm file and proceed editview the vba project macros. With unviewable vba project. Project unviewable. Protect Excel VBA code and lock VBA project, Unviewable VBA By default, Microsoft Excel offers VBA project password protection as a way to protect VBA code. This method of VBA code protection is weak and can be easily cracked. The DoneEx XCell Compiler provides a much better and much stronger solution to protect your VBA code from being stolen. Click the Tools menu and then choose VBAProject Properties. On the Protection tab, check the ' Lock project for viewing ' option, then type and confirm the password that you want to protect the VBA macros/code from viewing. Save the workbook as Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook format, and then close it so that the password protection takes effect.
In every company there is someone that creates Excel files with VBA macros and that wants to protect his work. There is no documentation and none knows the password. What we can do? We can crack the password!
On the web we can find a lot of software for free which do that but they have limitations and you have to pay to crack longer passwords, but we can crack a VBA password editing the file using an hex editor. This method can be applied to an Excel 2003 (xls) file, so, if you have an Excel 2007 (xlsm) file you can simply save it in the previous format.
Excel 2003 manage the VBA password simply comparing strings, so one method is simply to swap out the password entry in the file using a hex editor (In the following example I used HxD – Freeware Hex Editor and Disk Editor).
While in Visual Basic Editor (VBE), you click on a VBA project and receive the ' Project is unviewable ' error, instead of a password input prompt. You can neither view, nor edit macros. This article presents the 2 main reasons behind this message. We will also show you how you may be able to gain access to the VBA code inside the locked project. How to Crack Excel VBA Password with Passper for Excel Step 1 Run Passper for Excel on your PC and click the 'Remove Restrictions' option. Step 2 On the new window, click on the 'Select a File' button and follow the on-screen instructions to upload the Excel VBA password protected file into the program's interface.
- Backup you file making a copy
- Create a new simple Excel file
- In the VBA part (ALT + F11), set a simple password (for example 123).
- Save the file and exit
- Open the file you just created with the hex editor.
- Copy the lines starting with the following keys:
CMG=….
DPB=…
GC=… - Open the file you want to crack with your hex editor and paste the above copied lines from the dummy file
- Save the excel file and exit
- Now, open the excel file you need to see the VBA code in. The password for the VBA code will simply be 123.
The described method worked well for me a lot of time, but, if you try to paste the wrong number of bytes into the file, you will lose your VBA project when you try to open the file with Excel. Unfortunately there are instances (I haven’t figured out the cause yet) where the total length of the “CMG=……..GC=….” entry in the file is different from one excel file to the next. In some cases, this entry will be 137 bytes, and in others it will be 143 bytes. The 137 byte length is the odd one, and if this happens when you create your file with the ‘123’ password, just create another file, and it should jump to the 143 byte length.
I have a password-protected Excel file but I forgot the password to access it. How can I crack the password without using any software?
It could be hell when you can't access or edit an urgent and important Excel file just because of the forgotten password. Before you admit defeat, let me take you through some of the best ways to crack Excel password without software and access your file again.
Part 1: How to Crack Excel Password without Software
How to crack Excel password without software can be an uphill task, but the fact that there is no installation requirement makes it a good option. There are plenty of ways to crack Excel password without using software, but they vary in complexity and success rates. Nevertheless, they are still worth giving a try because they can save you some penny. With that said, let us dig deep into some of the plausible methods to crack Excel file password without software.
1.1 Crack Excel Password Online
Password-Online Recovery is a comprehensive password recovery tool for various types of documents. The good thing about this tool is that it doesn't tamper with the original formatting of your file and that you only need to pay when the decryption is successful. It is compatible with all major devices and operating systems and is thus a good tool to crack Excel password online.
Step 1: Navigate to the official page of Password-Online Recovery by using any browser.
Step 2: Click the 'Upload your encrypted file' button. Browse for the password-protected Excel file you want to crack and click 'Open' to upload it.
Step 3: The program will decrypt the file and when it is done, make the payment and click on the 'Get results' tab to fetch your cracked Excel file.
Note
Being an online service, Password-Online Recovery requires you to upload your encrypted Excel file to crack the password. Considering your data security, I do not recommend you to choose online service when your Excel file contains confidential information.
1.2 Crack MS Excel Password via Google Sheet
If your Excel worksheet/workbook is protected from being edited, then you can crack Excel sheet password without software by using Google Sheet. This method is free and legit. However, you need to back up your Excel sheet to avoid cases of data loss. The steps below illustrate how you can easily crack MS Excel password via Google sheet.
Step 1: Navigate to Google sheet and sign in via your email account.
Unlock Password Protected Vba Project
Step 2: Hover your cursor over the 'File' menu and select 'Import' from the drop-down list.
Step 3: The 'Import file' dialogue box will be displayed on the next window. Locate and click the 'Upload' tab then chose a convenient way to upload your Excel file.
Step 4: When the protected file is uploaded, you will be prompted to make some choices. Select the 'Replace spreadsheet' and subsequently hit the 'Import data' button. The protected Excel sheet can be edited now.
Step 5: Finally, you need to download this editable file to your computer. To do so, simply go to 'File' then 'Download As' and choose 'Microsoft Excel'.
1.3 Crack Excel File Password by Changing File Extension
Before we proceed, it is important if you understand that Excel files are a compilation of several XML files stacked together. This means an Excel file is simply a zipped file. To modify these files as we would do with password cracking, you need to change the file extension from XLSX to ZIP. After modifying the file, you have to revert it to .xlsx. This way, you have cracked the Excel file password by simply changing the file extension. So let's see how we can seamlessly do this.
Step 1: Open the File Explorer window and locate the password-protected Excel worksheet.
Step 2: Change the file extension to .zip. The program will then prompt you whether you want to make the change. Click 'Yes' to allow the file extension change.
Step 3: Now click on the 'Extract' tab within the explorer window and choose 'Extract all'. Extract the ZIP file to the desired folder.
Password Protected Vba Project
Step 4: After extracting the ZIP file, open the folder labelled 'xl' and subsequently locate the 'sheet.xml' file. Right-click on this file and choose 'Open with'. Select either Notepad or WordPad.
Step 5: When the selected program opens the XML file, identify the 'sheetProtection' code section and delete it as shown below.
Step 6: After deleting the protection code, go back and select all the files you extracted from ZIP. Right-click on them, choose the 'Send to' option, and select 'Compressed (zipped) folder' as shown below. Finally, change the ZIP extension back to .xlsx.
Note
This method is a little bit complicated if you are a novice user of a computer. And according to my test, it only works for Excel 2010. So, if you fail to use this method, please consider other options in this article.
1.4 Crack Password Protected Excel File with VBA Code
This method involves the use of Visual Basic scripting language to bypass the Excel password checking mechanisms and crack the Excel password. Ideally, we are fooling the program via a VBA code to allow us to edit it. This method can either give you a temporary password to unlock the password-protected Excel file or will enable you to edit the file directly. It is suitable for single sheets because multiple worksheets will require that you run the code again and again for each sheet. What's important, it can only crack numeric password. With that said, let us dive into how to crack password protected Excel file with VBA code.
Step 1: Open the protected Excel worksheet and access the VBA editor using the Alt + F11 commands on your keyboard.
Step 2: On the toolbar, click the 'Insert' button and select 'Module' from the drop-down menu.
Step 3: A Microsoft Excel Workbook module window will be displayed. Within the General window, enter the following VBA script code.
Step 4: Now hit the 'Run' button or simply press the F5 key to trigger the process of cracking your worksheet/workbook password.
Step 5: The program should finish the process within a few moments and display the sheet password on a small notification window. Click 'OK' and you will be able to edit your Excel worksheet/workbook.
Part 2: What If You Can't Crack Excel Password without Any Software
As you have seen above, most of the options to crack Excel password without software are complicated and register low success rates. If you are looking for a more effective and easier solution, I would like to recommend Passper for Excel to you.
Why does Passper for Excel stand out?
Crack Vba Project Password
Passper for Excel is a powerful program that offers 4 powerful and customized password decryption techniques to crack Excel opening password.
All Excel worksheet/workbook/VBA Project passwords can be cracked instantly with 100% success rate.
Passper team concerns your data security. It promises that there won't be any loss or leakage of your personal data.
The tool is truly easy to use. Whether you are a computer newbie or an expert, you can crack Excel password with 3 simple steps.
Passper for Excel has received many positive reviews on Trustpilot or via Passper support center. Do not hesitate to try it now!
User review on Trustpilot:
User review via Passper support center:
2.1 Crack Excel Password to Open File
Step 1 Run Passper for Excel program on your device and choose the 'Recover Passwords' option on the main interface.
Step 2 Click the 'Add' button to select the Excel file you wish to crack its password and click 'Open' to upload it to the program. When the file successfully uploads, choose a suitable password recovery mode. You can choose either of the Combination Attack, Dictionary Attack, Mask Attack, and Brute Force Attack. If you are not sure how to choose the mode, you can click here to learn more.
Step 3 After choosing the suitable password recovery method, click 'Next' to proceed. From the subsequent window, hit the 'Recover' button to trigger the process of cracking your Excel password. When the recovery is complete, the program will display the password on the background. Copy or write down the password then use it to access the password-protected excel file.
2.2 Crack Excel Password to Modify Worksheet/Workbook
Step 1 Run Passper for Excel and select 'Remove Restrictions' option.
Step 2 Click the 'Select a File' tab, and browse for the restricted Excel worksheet/workbook you want to modify and click 'Open' to import it to the program.
Step 3 Now, click the 'Remove' button to get rid of all the formatting and editing restrictions. It will only take a few seconds for the program to remove these restrictions on your Excel worksheet/workbook.
Conclusion
All of the methods mentioned above to crack Excel password with or without software are no doubt helpful. However, the fantastic capabilities and how Passper for Excel simplifies the entire process makes it the undisputed king to crack Excel password. Give it a try!