David R. Norton MVP wrote...
"Harlan Grove" wrote in:
....
And how many computer shop employees know how to remove passwords from
Office documents?

Every one I've ever encountered.

Then your experience is either severely outdated or unrepresentative.

How many computer shop employees know how to tell whether person A has
legal standing to open any particular file?

It's not difficult, going into a company site and having a person in
authority is reasonable indication, going into a private home and seeing a PC
simply requires asking.

So all an IP thief would need to do is make a copy of a file, take it
home, copy it onto his own PC, call the shop and tell them his impish
nephew Bobby was playoing around on his PC and password protected his
customer list? And that proves legal access how?

But at least you recognized the issue of cost, which was the OP's
original concern.

And you fail to realize the major point that cost is completely immaterial.
The OP will have to pay whatever the going rate may be.

Perhaps cost is immaterial to you.

Did you read the OP? Cost seems to have been the OP's primary reason
for posting. *IF* there were free document password crackers, then the
OP wouldn't have to pay anything, would he? Well, perhaps online
connect time if he isn't on a fixed rate plan, and if you want to be
extremely exacting, there would be some opportunity cost to the OP's
time spent downloading and using up disk storage for such software. But
the cost would be a pittance if there were free software to do this.

Beyond that, the cost of on-site service would likely exceed the cost
of the on-line service the OP thought too expensive.

Other than displaying your self-conceived sense of moral superiority,
why did you bother participating in this thread? Clearly not to help
the OP.