FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Password recovery
- What type of security is used to protect Word and Excel files from being opened?
- Why does Decryptum unlock a file (key recovery) rather than provide the file open password?
- Can I recover my VBA password?
- Can I recover worksheet or document passwords?
- How can I recover my Hotmail / Yahoo mail password?
Recovering your file
- Why don't you offer your own recovery service any more?
- What are Decryptum's service fees?
- How long does it take to recover a file?
- What if I have multiple files to be recovered?
- What happens if the file recovered ends up not being the one that I want?
Software
- What are the benefits and drawbacks of buying software vs using a recovery service?
- What software do you recommend?
- Do you have free software to give me?
Password recovery
Q: What type of security is used to protect Word and Excel files from being opened?
A: Word and Excel file protection is quite complex. The original password
is converted into a hash using the MD5 hash function. This is manipulated
and used as an encryption key for RC4 encryption of the file contents. Both
MD5 and RC4 algorithms are considered secure (can only be broken by trying all
possible combinations.)
Q: Why does Decryptum unlock a file (key recovery) rather than provide the file open password?
A: Word and Excel support passwords up to 15 characters. Most people are
now aware of the need to use a strong password. These passwords could comprise
any character (numeric, lower case, upper case, special characters and national
character sets). To test all possible 8 character passwords could take decades
even on a fast computer. To achieve the fast (about 3 minute) turnaround time, Decryptum uses a
key recovery procedure. This allows the file to be opened without the password.
Q: Can I recover my VBA password?
A: The software on this site can recover the original password for Word and Excel 97 (Office 97). Office 2000 and later does not store the original password so it can’t be recovered, but depending on the software you select, you can either change or remove the password to allow access to the VBA code.
Q: Can I recover worksheet or document passwords
A: Word and Excel do not store the original password in the file, but instead
store a "hashed" version of it. There are a lot of possible passwords
that hash to the same stored value. The software sold through this site can recover a possible password (so you can access your data), but it is unlikely to be the one you originally used.
Q: How can I recover my Hotmail / Yahoo mail password?
A: Both services have ways of recovering the password for legitimate
users who can answer predetermined questions. The links for this are next
to the sign on area for both services. We can't help you with this.
Recovering your file
Q: Why don't you offer your own recovery service anymore?
A: We previously operated a supercomputer that recovered password protected Word and Excel files. We no longer offer this service because we believe that the Decryptum service is a quantum improvement over what we were offering, so are pleased to be able to operate as a Decryptum affiliate instead.
Q: What are Decryptum's service fees?
A: The basic cost for a single file is $39.
Q: How long does it take to recover a single file?
A: Around 3 minutes.
Q: What if I have multiple files to be recovered?
A: Decryptum's price structure provides for discounts if you have a number of files to recover. Please note that this service does not recover passwords, so you will need to decrypt each file individually even if the files all have the same password
Q: What happens if the file recovered ends up not being the one that I want?
A: Decryptum offers a preview facility that shows a small part of the file so that you can verify that it can be decrypted. We recommend that you preview the file first to ensure that it is the one that you want, as there are no refunds provided.
Software
Q: What are the benefits and drawbacks of buying software vs using a recovery service?
A: Purchasing software gives you the possibility of recovering the original password, if a simple password was used. This also keeps your data on your own computer (although Decrytum's service is totally confidential). However, most software costs more than Decryptum's service fee but doesn't have a money back success guarantee. Ordinary brute force software has an 80% failure rate on real world files.
There are two packages that do work (see below), but they take at least 30 days
per file. Unless you have a lot of patience or access to a number of PC's, it will
always be faster and cheaper to benefit from Decryptum's facilities.
Q: What software do you recommend?
A: After testing a large number of packages, we can recommend Ultimate Zip Cracker
and GuaWord / GuaExcel. These packages provide key recovery which means
that they can open password protected Word and Excel files. To read reviews
of these packages, go to the software section.
Q: Do you have free software to give me?
A: Yes. You can download free software developed by our company here.