Hello Linux Questions,

I have some old Word docs that are password protected and I don't have the password anymore. I thought they could maybe be opened from within Ubuntu so I am running that from the installation disc, but so far no luck. I tried using apache open office but it still prompts me for a password. I also tried using the zip method but when I do that it doesn't show me the file I need to delete in the archive. I work on a lot of windows computers and I've heard linux can be a useful tool when a windows operating system becomes unusable so I'm also interested in those techniques. But for now I just want to open some old word files. They are definitely my own creation and property.

Thanks

It's fine that you have a good opinion of Linux, however Linux is not there to specifically enable breaking into password protected files. Unfortunately they are as protected under Linux as they are for MS Word under Windows. Best you can do is to try and recall the password(s) you used for them.

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The documentation for Microsoft Office is very clear about password-protected files: If you lose/forget the password, you’re toast! A web search confirms this.
Accessing a word document in, for example, a text editor doesn’t yeild anything useful even when the document is not password-protected.

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(bolded/underlined for emphasis only)

While we may be able to appreciate your situation, there is NO WAY we can absolutely know, that these are your documents. Asking us to help you circumvent security/passwords/crack a file is against LQ rules. Linux isn't a 'magic hacking system'...it's just another computer OS. While you have more tools and a better user experience, it's not going to help you any further than Mac or Windows will.

If these are your documents, you should be able to remember some older passwords from years ago...keep trying. Not like MS Word will lock you out after many tries. You can also find other methods/programs, but we can't really point you to them, and they're fairly sketchy to start with.

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It is an annoying situation - having been there the only option is to redo the work (though I did eventually remember my password - keep trying).. I'd just be grateful it's not a xlsm with plenty of vba to get upset about losing...

I know nothing about Word, but there are two possibilities.
1. Password protection does not involve encryption, so the content file can be cleaned up and used.
2. Encryption is used on the content file (as in Writer), in which case you're stuck.

Password protection usually involves compressing the file with a password. No one will be cleaning that up!

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