Fwd: RE: [libreoffice-users] LibO 3.4.3 cannot open password protected Word 2010 file

Thank you, Nguyen,

The workaround is to store in Word 97-2003 .doc format and use the weaker security that provides. This is the only case of a password-protected Microsoft Word document that I have seen be readable by OpenOffice and LibreOffice software.

You'll have to experiment to see if your read-only and revision-tracking locks are preserved in that case and, if preserved, whether they are preserved in LibreOffice opening of the document. I expect that these will be dropped or the recipient, even you, might be unable to release those locks because the password verifier used in the ODF format is not derived the same way.

- Dennis E. Hamilton
tools for document interoperability,
dennis.hamilton@acm.org gsm: +1-206-779-9430 @orcmid

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT FORENSICS

I was able to download and open the Aaa.docx file in Word 2010 without difficulty. (The first of 4 words on the single-page document is "Aaa".) I was also able to open the file in Word 2007 too. I was also able to allow editing of the document by using the same password. Oh, and I see change-tracking is enabled. So the fourth word in the document is actually a tracked deletion and not an underlined word in red. Oh, and change-tracking is forced in the document settings. Nice.

This password protection is not part of the OOXML specification as far as I know. It is a separate technique, documented as MS-OFFCRYPTO, by which the entire file is encrypted with a "wrapper" that allows Word to recognize it. The name of the file is unchanged, and Word will recognize the special format and request that the password be provided. This particular form of encryption is unlike anything that is used with ODF documents (although there are discussions to provide something comparable to achieve improved document security).

Word 2007 and Word 2010 use stronger encryption techniques on DOCX files than are supported with DOC files, so that is another reason to try the workaround.

I notice that if I use "Open with" LibreOffice Writer 3.3.2, nothing happens - Writer starts to open and then closes automatically.

If I use "Open with" OpenOffice.org 3.2, the file format is not recognized at all.

-----Original Message-----
From: Nguyen Vu Hung
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 05:04
To: users@global.libreoffice.org
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] LibO 3.4.3 cannot open password protected Word 2010 file

Ngày 11/10/22 17:16, Frieder viết:
>> Ngày 11/10/22 16:33, Nguyen Vu Hung () viết:
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>> It seems that LibO 3.4.3 cannot open password protected Word 2010 file.
>>> Attached is a Word file saved with Mac Word 2010.
>>>
>>> The password for opening and modifying is "123456".
>>>
>>> Any ideas?
>>>
>>
>>
> Hello
> you can't send attachments to this list.
> Pleas store the document somewhere on the web, and send a Link to this
> list.
> You can use Google-Spreadsheets to store your document on the web, but
> you need a googlemail address for this.
I did not know that.
Here we go: http://www.mediafire.com/?eqc9sh5hc49v6j5

Regards,

Nguyen Vu Hung