Thread: Password Crack
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Peter Foldes
 
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Sorry to jump in here but how many of you remember the old Microsoft =
server newsgroup MSNNEWS. This goes back to 95. It was moderated at the =
time.

There was a post there in 95 where someone posted that he set up the =
Content Advisor so his kids will not be able to get into certain sites. =
Now he said that he forgot the Password and needed help. He had numerous =
answers on how to get around it and open it.=20

Well about a month later in the newspapers and TV there was the story =
that a Father is suing MS and that newsgroup for telling his child on =
how to get rid of that password . BTW he won the case and a large some =
of money.

The point is you do not know who is who and what is what.

Today that child that did that is not allowed near a computer for =
another 3 yrs. His nickname was the Mafia Boy. Yep the same one that =
made National and International headlines when he hacked =
IBM,MS,Governments etc.

--=20
Peter

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"JE McGimpsey" wrote in message =
...
In article ,
"David R. Norton MVP" wrote:
=20
And how many computer shop employees know how to remove passwords =

from
Office documents?

=20
Every one I've ever encountered.

=20
You've asked at every computer shop? Or have you just not encountered=20
many? That differs significantly from my experience. The shops I work=20
with have nobody who's trained to do so. None of them knew that =

removing=20
a VBA password takes about 30 seconds with a hex editor (1 second if =

you=20
script it).
=20
How many are willing to make house calls? How many are willing to take =


on the liability for damages, including bonding? How many do more than =


cursory background checks on their employees? How many even have an=20
interest in providing that service?
=20
How many computer shop employees know how to tell whether person A =

has
legal standing to open any particular file?

=20
It's not difficult, going into a company site and having a person in=20
authority is reasonable indication

=20
Hmmm...what authority is necessary? How do I know someone is "in=20
authority"? If you're talking liability to the computer shop for an=20
improperly unprotected file, a prudent computer shop owner would need =

a=20
heck of a lot of assurance, at a similarly inflated price.
=20
going into a private home and seeing a PC=20
simply requires asking.

=20
Now that's just laughable. So the person (not in authority) at the=20
company site takes the file home, and can have it unprotected just for =


the asking?
=20
You're trying to portray Office protection schemes as somehow more =

than=20
they are - more than Microsoft claims them to be. Protection is not=20
absolute - XL's worksheet and workbook protection are useful to keep=20
honest users from accidently overwriting formulas, that's *it*!!!! =

File=20
protection can keep casual snoopers out of the file, but even that=20
doesn't encrypt it - with a hex editor and a reasonable guess as to =

the=20
data layout and tokenization, you can reconstruct a workbook without=20
unprotecting it. It's a lot more work, of course...