Remove Password From Excel Using Kali

There are several ways to crack an Excel password (open password or user password) to regain access to the file if you've lost the original one, forgot it, or never had it. Although there are some robust tools for breaking password specifically for Excel files, many of them are too complicated for inexperienced users. As a result of that, we've showcased some relatively easy ways to crack Excel passwords on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Let's take a look at these tools and the steps to use them.

I’m in no way intending to facilitate committing any crimes with my answer. The link I provide you with is publicly available on the Internet. What you do with that is entirely your call. Check this out: Unprotecting Excel Spreadsheets Without The. At our company (all microsoft based), we have a problem with users locking excel workbooks with a password and then they forget that password. Now since I'm IT support I get to deal with this. I've tried several dodgy windows tools for recovering or removing the password but this doesn't work. These are all Excel 2010-2013 files.

Part 1. Excel Password Cracker on Windows 10

On a Windows computer, you need to look no further than TunesBro Excel Password Remover. This powerful password recovery utility works with a wide range of Excel and Windows versions, and the hardware acceleration feature ensures that the original password is recovered in the shortest amount of time possible.

In addition, if your files are permission-restricted, you can instantly remove the edit password (Owner or Permissions Password) in bulk. The user interface is slick and it's even suitable for novice users, and the three powerful password decryption options will make sure that almost any password, no matter how complex or long, will be cracked in a relatively short time.

Step 1Preparation

Install the program on a Windows PC the way you would install any software. Make sure you download from the official TunesBro website to avoid downloading spurious or malicious copies.

Step 2Add Excel File

When you launch the application, you will see two options: the first one is the password recovery function, while the second is the one for bulk permissions restriction removal. Click on the first option.

Remove password from excel using kali

Step 3Choose a Password Attack Type

In the subsequent page, you can choose between three password attack types, also known as password recovery engines, as described below:

Dictionary Attack: Use built-in wordlists to crack relatively simple and specific password types. You also have the option to upload your own wordlists if you want to.

Brute Force Attack: Attempt to try all possible combinations, which means it will take the longest amount of time out of the three types.

Mask Attack: Similar to Brute Force, this requires additional user input. If you know the length of the password, a few of the characters used, or even a prefix or suffix, it takes less time to recover.

Note: At this stage, you can also choose to leverage your CPU cores and graphics processor to speed up password recovery. In addition, you can tweak the settings to have your PC shut down after the password has been recovered, or even save progress in case it is interrupted.

4Start Cracking Excel Password

The last step is to simply click the Start button. Once the password is recovered, it will be displayed on your screen, from where you can copy it and open the locked Excel file.

TunesBro Excel Password Remover is a must-have utility if you regularly work with password-protected Excel files. The biggest benefit of password recovery is that your colleagues with whom the file is shared won't have to be inconvenienced since you're not resetting the password but retrieving the original.

Part 2. How to Crack Exel Password on Mac (Online)

On a Mac, one of the easiest ways to crack an Excel password is to use an online service. That way you don't have to download anything, and the process is fairly simple as well. One thing you should be aware of is that even if a particular service (like the one shown below) is secure, your file is still exposed to hackers when it's being uploaded or downloaded. For that reason, we advise you to make sure you only do this on a secure Internet connection. That way, you have some measure of protection. Here's the process to follow:

Step 1. Find a secure Excel password cracking service like lostmypass.com and drop your Excel file into the box provided. You can also click the orange button to manually navigate to the file and select it.

Step 2. The free recovery option is great for frequently used passwords - about 3 million of them - but the success rate is only 22%. There are several paid options that increase that percentage to about 61%, but you won't have to pay if your password is not recovered. There's a 100% recovery option, but you'll need to provide accurate mask parameters for this.

Step 3. Once your password has been recovered, you can make the payment (if you're opting for one of the non-free choices) and download your file.

It's a lot more expensive that using TunesBro software, which is also available for Mac. However, for simple passwords, you can recover it for free on your Mac using this great online service.

Part 3. How to Crack Excel Password on Linnux (Free)

There are essentially two relatively simple password cracking tools you can use on Linux to recover Excel passwords. One is John the Ripper and the other is Hashcat. If you're using Kali Linux, you probably already have John installed. However, John can't retrieve the hashes so you'll need something else for this.

Office2John is a simple Python script that prepares the hash file for John to take over and crack. Although it sounds a bit complicated, the process itself is straightforward: retrieve the hash for the encrypted Excel file using Office2John, verify the hash, and let John do its job using wordlists that you might already have. If you don't, you can always generate your own or download one from CrackStation.

Kali Linux Default Password

Step 1. Office2John doesn't come with John the Ripper's generic version, but you can run a wget command to download it:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/magnumripper/JohnTheRipper/bleeding-jumbo/run/office2john.py

Step 2. Office2John typically gets saved to your home directory, so bring your command prompt to the same location before running the program to retrieve the hash. Just use the cd command to do this.

Step 3. Now, you'll need to retrieve the hash using Office2John, and you can do this with the following command. Again, make sure you're in the same directory where the tool was downloaded to:

python office2john.py LockedExcel.xlsx > hash.txt

What this command does is to 'steal' the hash from the locked file and save it in a text file called Hash.

Kali Wordlist

Step 4. It is now time for John to do its work. Before you begin, you might want to verify the hash, which you can do with this command:

cat hash.txt

Step 5. To run John, use the following command: john --wordlist=/usr/share/wordlists/nmap.lst hash.txt

The default NMAP wordlist is good for simple passwords, but you can also get the CrackStation dictionary if you think the password might be a long or complex one. If you're doing that, change nmap.lst in the command above as appropriate.

Step 6. To have your cracked password displayed, use this command: john --show hash.txt

There are other ways to unprotect an Excel sheet in Linux, but this is one of the simplest available.

Summary

Follow the above methods to effectively crack Excel passwords and access the locked files in Windows, Mac, and Linux . These tools will prove invaluable in situations where an ex-employee has confidential information locked in Excel files and hasn't saved the passwords anywhere. They're especially useful when dealing with HR or Finance-related documents that are time-sensitive or mission-critical.

Aug 27, 2019 17:56:32 / Posted by Candie Kates to Office Solution

Related Articles & Tips

Did you forget the root password to your system? If so, worry not! This article will show you how to reset the root password in Kali Linux.

Kali Linux is the number one security operating system of today, and this is the operating system that the programming world prefers to use to perform penetration testing, or pen-testing. Pen-testing is a methodology where people check their own systems and their own architectures to find vulnerabilities. It is a Debian-based system and widely considered one of the best options for hackers. Kali Linux was developed by offensive security as a rewrite of Backtrack, a Linux distribution that focuses on security. Kali Linux is a distribution that offers many hacking and penetration tools that are up-to-date and software by default and is widely recognized by different Windows users.

Kali Linux requires a minimum storage space of 20 GB to install and begin working. Kali Linux is a heavyweight OS and needs 1GB of RAM. This OS uses a variety of tools that require graphical hardware acceleration using the latest GPUs.

How to Reset the Root Password

Say you come to the login screen of Kali Linux and you have forgotten your password. If you enter the wrong password, it is going to say that the password is incorrect and to try again. At this point, you should simply restart Kali Linux.

The next sections provide instructions you can follow to reset your password in Kali Linux.

Boot into GRUB Menu

Remove Password From Excel Using Kali Linux

Once you get to the menu after reboot, be sure to hit the up or down arrow keys to cancel timeout to prevent the system from going into default mode.

Edit the GRUB Menu

Highlight ‘Advanced options for Kali GNU/Linux.’

Press the E key.

Look out for the line that starts with “Linux.”

In the Linux section, replace ‘o’ in the ‘ro_single’ with ‘w’ to make it ‘rw_single’ in the Linux line.

At the end of this line, hit the space key on the keyboard and type 'init=/bin/bash.’

Press fn+f10 on the keyboard.

Change the Password

Enter the emulator command given below to change the existing password:

Now, type your new password next to the ‘New Password’ option and hit the Enter key.

Retype your new password, after which you will see a message saying ‘password updated successfully.’

You have now reset your password successfully by following the previous steps.

Remove Password From Excel Using Kali Python

Now, select the Kali/Linux option and hit the Enter key.

Kali Password Dictionary

Provide your username, i.e., the root username, and your new password.

Remove Password From Excel Using Kalispell

Click the sign-in button, and you will see that the system is now functioning properly for the root user.

Remove Password From Excel Using Kali

Conclusion

After reading this article, forgetting the password of Kali Linux should no longer be an issue for you. You can simply reset your password by following the simple steps listed above. I hope this article has helped you in solving this issue.