Two Types of Excel Protection — Which Do You Have?
Open Password (Encryption)
The file is fully encrypted — Excel asks for a password before showing anything. This is the hard one: the entire file content is AES-encrypted. You cannot open it, view it, or read its sheets without the correct password. This is what our service recovers.
Sheet/Workbook Protection
The file opens fine, but some sheets or the workbook structure are locked. You can view content but cannot edit certain cells or unhide sheets. This type of protection can often be bypassed without the original password using VBA macros (for older Excel) or third-party tools.
Options for Opening an Encrypted Excel File
Professional GPU Recovery (Our Service)
Upload your file. We run GPU-accelerated attacks against the encryption. Works on all Excel versions. Pay only on success — nothing if we fail.
Try Passwords You Know
Before anything else: try every password you've used around that time. Check your password manager, email threads, old notes. Even partial memory helps.
VBA Macro Bypass
Only works for sheet/workbook protection (not open passwords) on Excel 2010 and older. If the file won't open at all, this won't help.
Google Sheets Import
Sometimes Google Sheets can import Excel files — but NOT if they have an open password. The encryption blocks any import attempt.
Basic Online Utilities
CPU-based dictionary attacks on shared servers. May work for very simple passwords set before 2010. Will not crack modern AES-256 encryption.
Excel Format & Encryption Reference
| Format | Encryption | Success Rate |
|---|---|---|
| .xls | RC4 40-bit (Office 97-2003) | High — legacy encryption, fast attack |
| .xlsx | AES-128 (Excel 2007-2010) | Good — depends on password complexity |
| .xlsx | AES-256 (Excel 2013+) | Moderate — complexity-dependent |
| .xlsm | AES-256 (macro-enabled) | Moderate — same as modern .xlsx |
| .xltx / .xltm | Same as matching .xlsx/.xlsm | Same recovery rate as base format |