How can I get past the password to open a Microsoft Word document?

Question

I have a work document that I made in Word and I set a password to open the document and I have now lost that password. Is there a way to bypass this without paying money or taking a million years?

Answer 1

do a google search for

ms word password recovery

you'll find quite a few free downloads that will attempt to open the file for you.  

Answer 2

the password for a password-protected word file is encrypted using a 40 bit key so bypassing it is not an option, you will have to 'brute force' it.

using this free software, it should be open in 3/4 days:

http://www.password-crackers.com/crack/g...

alternatively, use this demo to recover the first 2 characters of the password and it may be enough to refresh your memory:

http://www.lostpassword.com/word.htm