Password Protection Loophole

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 29, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, and 2002

Most Word users know that you can password protect a Word document. A good portion of those users know that password protection is not the most secure way to protect your document. One example of this is the following scenario:

Make sure you have Word set to create backup copies.
Create a normal Word document and save it a few times. (You now have the document and a backup file.)
Choose Save As and save the document using the same name, but with a password.

At this point you have a document that is protected, but the backup file is not protected. Note that this sort of makes sense, since the current file you save is your document as it currently exists (protected) and the backup file is the last version of your document (which was unprotected).

The only way around this problem is to either turn the backup files off, delete the unprotected backup file, or save your file twice. (The second save will wipe out the unprotected backup file and save the protected one in its place.)

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1373) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, and 2002.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Toggling AutoFilter

Want a tool that will help you toggle AutoFilter on and off? Excel provides some tools you can use, but you need to be ...

Discover More

Finding the Date Associated with a Negative Value

When working with data taken from the real world, you often have to determine which certain conditions were met, such as ...

Discover More

Displaying a Message in the Status Bar

A great place for your macro to display status information is, well, in the status bar. Displaying the information is ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Viewing Document Statistics

As you develop a document, Word keeps track of certain statistics about the document itself. Here is how you can review ...

Discover More

Linking Word Documents

Want to add one document to another document? You can do it by adding links, described in this tip.

Discover More

Appending to a Non-Document Text File

Your macros can easily add information to the end of an existing text file. This is done by opening the target file in ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is two more than 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.