3 Reliable Tools to Recover Excel Password If You Forgot Password
An Excel file can be password-protected in order to prevent any unauthorized access and ensure data integrity. The file can be only opened when the legit password is entered.
However, if you forgot or lost Excel password, then you cannot access it and your file turns useless. If this is the situation you are in now, then we are here to help.
You can find many suggestions in search engine to recover Excel password to regain access to your file if you have forgotten the password. In reality, most of the tools are not supporting latest Excel version. And many of them were not updated for years. Basically, you could waste hours to find a solution that works in 2021.
With that in mind, we have gathered the best tools for recovering or cracking your Excel password.
#1 Recover Excel Password with John the Ripper
John the Ripper is an open-source password cracker for Microsoft Office files. The best part about the tool is that it supports all formats and operating systems out there. The process of cracking Excel password is pretty fast, but it might be complicated to some folks who do not want to play around with command lines.
Keep in mind that John the Ripper is a free tool, so it still needs polishing from developers out there. So, you may come across some bugs and glitches. The process basically involves extracting the hash from password-protected excel file and then cracking the password from it.
First off, download a binary package of John the ripper from official website (https://www.openwall.com/john/). After that unzip the file into a local directory.
Now, you need to install Office2john to extract hash from Excel. To do this, you can download it from this link. When you are done, launch it on your computer.
Now make sure everything is in the same directory. To use Office2john to extract hash from your Excel file, you need to run it with Python, which requires you to change into the same directory that the tool is currently installed into.
Once everything is ready, extract the hash. To do this, open Command Prompt , then run this command:
python office2john.py my_excel.xlsx > hash.txt
Now you can crack the hash you have just extracted using John the Ripper. To do this, set the –wordlist flag with the location of your favorite word list and then run the command to recover password from secured Excel file.
john — — wordlist=/usr/share/wordlists/nmap.lst hash.txt
John the Ripper will start cracking Excel file password. The process will finish depending on the password complexity. Once it is done successfully, you should see recovered password on the screen.
This is a complete free solution to recover password from Excel (xls, xlsx). Simply put, John the Ripper is a great tool for cracking Excel password. However, if you have never used command line before, this could be headache.
#2 Recover Excel Password by iSeePassword Dr.Excel
Dr.Excel is a professional Excel password recovery software you should check out right now. This powerful tool works with a wide range of Excel versions, including Excel 2019, 2017, 2013, 2011 and 2007. It also supports hardware acceleration that helps speed up the password recovery process.
Unlike John the Ripper, Dr. Excel is built with a polished user interface, where has direct instructions for each step. However, it is not free as you need to pay some cash. The rate is affordable as it is priced at $29.95 for a lifetime license. That’s a good deal for a powerful password cracking software. Here are the steps:
Step 1: Install iSeePassword Dr.Excel (https://www.iseepassword.com/excel-password-recovery.html)on a Windows machine and launch it.
Step 2: From its main menu, select “Recover Open Password from Excel” and hit the Add File button.
Step 3: Now select the Excel file you wish to recover the password for and proceed with selecting the attack types.
Step 4: The tool offers three attack types to pick from, including Dictionary Attack, Mask Attack, and Brute Force Attack.
Step 5: Select your preferred attack mode and then hit the Start button. The tool will start recovering Excel password. The process takes from several minutes to days depending on the password length.
iSeePassword Dr. Excel is a much more suitable tool for ordinary users when it comes to recovering Excel password, as it is fast, reliable, and cheap. It features three attack modes, which guarantees a high level of success. All of your data remain intact during the process, so don’t worry about data loss.
#3 Recover Excel Password Using Password-find.com
If none of the above methods works for you, then you can go for an online password recovery service. The main benefits of using an online tool is that it does not require you to install software.
However, keep in mind that relying on an online cracker may result in your data leakage, as it might be exposed to hackers online. We highly advise against scams on the internet. If you are looking for an online cracking tool, then we recommend you try password-find.com, which promises to get the job done while keeping your file secure. Here are the steps;
Head over to this web page:
https://www.password-find.com/crack_office_password.htm
Upload password protected Excel from local computer by clicking the “Browse” button.
You have to pick up an option in next step. “Remove Password” will delete password form uploaded document. “Find Password” will recover the original password from Excel and this requires prepayment.
Taking first option as example. Once the protected Excel file is uploaded, the password protection will be removed almost instantly on the server side. A list of available options are displayed on the screen. You can now download the unlocked version of Excel, view it online or delete it from server.
Note that an online service only helps to remove permission password or crack simple open password from Excel. If your password complexity level is high, then we recommend you use iSeePassword Dr.Excel listed above.
