Hi :( +1 Losing data is always "gutting". I feel the pain too and have been there all too often myself.
I would definitely try opening in MS Office just in case that does still work. Also i would try checking out usb-stick, emails, other machines, maybe back-up folders just to see if there was an unprotected fairly recent version lurking somewhere. I'm not sure if data-recovery techniques would be worth a try. If other people have to use the file then maybe one of them has the password written under their keyboard or on a post-it note beside their screen? Perhaps in the file where hard-copies are kept? Maybe in a introductory training book for new employees? Regards from Tom :) ________________________________ From: David Stuckey <[email protected]> To: Tom Davies <[email protected]> Cc: Gabriel Risterucci <[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, 12 September 2013, 13:06 Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] the password of LibreOffice To the originator of this thread, I feel your pain and commiserate with you. As to the solution... I don't know. I think the best answer I have seen is to have a different password for every different type of file or web sight, i.e. all write files or all calc. files...even they can be individualized at will. Then keep a special file with a benign, password protected, name that holds all the passwords. The secure password for this file is carried around with you (until you have used it so many times that you know it by heart.) Of course, I inevitably forget to include a new password in the password file! By the way, thanks to all who replied to my cry for help with the Formula/text difficulty in Calc. Regards, David | David Stuckey, MBA. MHSA. On Wed, Sep 11, 2013 at 6:07 AM, Tom Davies <[email protected]> wrote: Hi :) >There are plenty of warnings out there and people take no notice of them. I >saw a hot tap with a warning notice over it saying "Warning the water might be >hot". People cease to even notice warning notices because they are far tooo >common. > >I my office we used to carefully hide the servers in a locked cabinet behind a >filing cabinet which meant that everyone knew where they were. Now they are >right in the middle of the office and people walk past them any time they walk >around the office. Consequently no-one notices them! My boss wanted me to >label them with "Do not touch" signs so that kids wouldn't try playing with >them but i managed to avoid it. The kids don't go near them because they look >boring but an exciting notice saying "Do not touch" would make them wonder why >and make them curious to know what would happen if they did. > > >Regards from >Tom :) > > > > >________________________________ > From: Gabriel Risterucci <[email protected]> >To: >Cc: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> >Sent: Wednesday, 11 September 2013, 11:25 > >Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] the password of Libreoffice > > > >2013/9/11 Tom Davies <[email protected]> > >> Hi :) >> You can always try opening it with MS Office. >> >> I have opened password protected MS files in LibreOffice without even >> being asked to type in a password. I have been told the other way around >> works too. Both programs use different systems for password protection. >> >> > >> Another way might be to copy the file and then rename the file-ending to >> .zip and then you should be able to poke around inside the coding of the >> file. I've not looked at a Calc file that way so i am not sure whether a >> text-editor could help recover the information from "contents.xml". Also i >> am not sure if there is a single element that could be deleted to remove >> the password protection. >> > >Unfortunately, while it's true that old mso formats used "password >protection" as a simple access management tool, recent version (think docX) >and libreoffice files *do* encrypt the files. > >Opening the file as a zip file will only yield ciphered files, except for >the mimetype one, which is not very useful. > > >> Most security is more likely to hamper legitimate users than really slow >> down a determined cracker. Encryption is a classic at being more often >> responsible for losing crucial or private data. >> > >If done correctly, the "slow down" part would grow into many years. That's >the point of encryption, since a bruteforce attack is always possible with >every cryptosystems :-) > >However, you're right; for most people this option is more like a trap if >it is not part of a greater document management system that does take care >of the details like password, keys, and allow for some kind of recovery. >Maybe there should be a warning box that explicitely state that the >document will be lost if the password is lost. > >-- >To unsubscribe e-mail to: [email protected] >Problems? http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/ >Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette >List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/users/ >All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted >-- >To unsubscribe e-mail to: [email protected] >Problems? http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/ >Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette >List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/users/ >All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted > -- To unsubscribe e-mail to: [email protected] Problems? http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/ Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/users/ All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted
