Hi:
Let me know if the following helps you. IMO, we will have to have custom
scripts and have some registry key checkups, nevertheless, the following
will be the general guidelines for protecting a excel workbook or worksheet
Protecting specific worksheet or workbook elements
When you share an Excel file so that others can collaborate on the data,
you can prevent any user from making changes to specific worksheet or
workbook elements by protecting (or locking down) certain parts of the
file. You can also specify a password to allow individual users to modify
specific elements.
Important The following types of protection should not be confused with
file security. They are not meant to make your workbook more secure and
cannot protect it from users who have malicious intent.
Worksheet element protection
When you protect a worksheet, all cells on the worksheet are locked by
default, and users cannot make any changes to a locked cell. For example,
they cannot insert, modify, delete, or format data in a locked cell. You
can, however, specify which elements users will be allowed to change when
you protect the worksheet.
To protect a worksheet, point to Protection on the Tools menu, and then
click Protect Sheet. You can control access to individual worksheet or
chart sheet elements by selecting or clearing the following check boxes.
Worksheet options
Check box When cleared, prevents users from
Select locked cells Moving the pointer to cells for which the Locked check
box is selected on the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box. By
default, users are allowed to select locked cells.
Select unlocked cells Moving the pointer to cells for which the Locked
check box is cleared on the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog box.
By default, users are allowed to select unlocked cells, and they can press
the TAB key to move between the unlocked cells on a protected worksheet.
Format cells Changing any of the options in the Format Cells or Conditional
Formatting dialog boxes. If you applied conditional formats before you
protected the worksheet, the formatting continues to change when a user
enters a value that satisfies a different condition.
Format columns Using any of the commands on the Column submenu of the
Format menu, including changing column width or hiding columns.
Format rows Using any of the commands on the Row submenu of the Format
menu, including changing row height or hiding rows.
Insert columns Inserting columns.
Insert rows Inserting rows.
Insert hyperlinks Inserting new hyperlinks (hyperlink: Colored and
underlined text or a graphic that you click to go to a file, a location in
a file, a Web page on the World Wide Web, or a Web page on an intranet.
Hyperlinks can also go to newsgroups and to Gopher, Telnet, and FTP
sites.), even in unlocked cells.
Delete columns Deleting columns. Note that if Delete columns is protected
and Insert columns is not also protected, a user can insert columns that he
or she cannot delete.
Delete rows Deleting rows. Note that if Delete rows is protected and Insert
rows is not also protected, a user can insert rows that he or she cannot
delete.
Sort Using any of the Sort commands on the Data menu, or the Sort buttons
on the Standard toolbar. Users can't sort ranges that contain locked cells
on a protected worksheet, regardless of this setting.
Use AutoFilter Using the drop-down arrows to change the filter on an
AutoFiltered range. Users cannot create or remove AutoFiltered ranges on a
protected worksheet, regardless of this setting.
Use PivotTable reports Formatting, changing the layout, refreshing, or
otherwise modifying PivotTable reports (PivotTable report: An interactive,
crosstabulated Excel report that summarizes and analyzes data, such as
database records, from various sources, including ones that are external to
Excel.), or creating new reports.
Edit objects Making changes to graphic objects— including maps, embedded
charts, shapes, text boxes, and controls— that you did not unlock before
you protected the worksheet. For example, if a worksheet has a button that
runs a macro, you can click the button to run the macro, but you cannot
delete the button.
Making any changes, such as formatting, to an embedded chart. The chart
continues to be updated when you change its source data.
Adding or editing comments.
Edit scenarios Viewing scenarios (scenario: A named set of input values
that you can substitute in a worksheet model.) that you have hidden, making
changes to scenarios that you have prevented changes to, and deleting these
scenarios. Users can change the values in the changing cells, if the cells
are not protected, and add new scenarios.
Note If you run a macro that affects an element that is protected on the
worksheet, a message appears and the macro stops running.
Chart sheet options
Check box When selected, prevents users from
Contents Making changes to items that are part of the chart, such as data
series, axes, and legends. The chart continues to reflect changes made to
its source data.
Objects Making changes to graphic objects— including shapes, text boxes,
and controls— unless you unlock the objects before you protect the chart
sheet.
Permission to access specific areas of a protected worksheet
Before you protect a worksheet, you can unlock the ranges that you want
users to be able to change or enter data in. You can:
Unlock cells for all users on the Protection tab of the Format Cells dialog
box (Format menu, Cells command).
Unlock cells for specific users in the Allow Users to Edit Ranges dialog
box (Tools menu, Protection submenu, Allow Users to Edit Ranges command).
Users whom you specify in the Permissions for range dialog box (Permissions
button) can automatically edit the range without entering the password. All
other users are prompted for the password when they want to edit the range.
Keep the following in mind:
If a cell belongs to more than one range, users who are authorized to edit
any of those ranges can edit the cell.
If a user attempts to edit multiple cells at once and is authorized to edit
some but not all of those cells, the user will be prompted to select and
edit the cells one by one.
If you specify ranges in the Allow Users to Edit Ranges dialog box without
assigning a password, those ranges will be unlocked for all users.
Password protection of worksheet and workbook elements
When you protect a worksheet or workbook to lock its elements, adding a
password is optional. In this context, the password is merely intended to
allow access to certain users while helping to prevent changes by other
users. This level of password protection does not ensure that all sensitive
data in your workbook is secure. For optimal security, you should use a
password to help safeguard the workbook file itself from unauthorized
access.
Note It is very important that you remember the password that you set.
Without the password, there is no way to unprotect the workbook or
worksheet.
Important Use strong passwords that combine uppercase and lowercase
letters, numbers, and symbols. Weak passwords don't mix these elements.
Strong password: Y6dh!et5. Weak password: House27. Use a strong password
that you can remember so that you don't have to write it down.
Workbook structure and window protection
You can lock the structure of a workbook, which prevents users from adding
or deleting worksheets or from displaying hidden worksheets. You can also
prevent users from changing the size or position of worksheet windows.
Workbook structure and window protection applies to the entire workbook.
To protect a workbook, point to Protection on the Tools menu, and then
click Protect Workbook.
You can choose which elements you want to protect (workbook structure,
windows, or both) by selecting or clearing the following check boxes.
Workbook options
Check box When selected, prevents users from
Structure Viewing worksheets that you have hidden.
Moving, deleting, hiding, or changing the names of worksheets.
Inserting new worksheets or chart sheets. (However, users can add embedded
charts to existing worksheets by running the Chart Wizard.)
Moving or copying worksheets to another workbook.
In PivotTable reports, displaying the source data for a cell in the data
area, or displaying page field (page field: A field that's assigned to a
page orientation in a PivotTable or PivotChart report. You can either
display a summary of all items in a page field, or display one item at a
time, which filters out the data for all other items.) pages on separate
worksheets.
For scenarios, creating a scenario summary report.
In the Analysis ToolPak, using the analysis tools that place results on a
new worksheet.
Recording new macros.
Note If you run a macro that includes an operation that can't be performed
in a protected workbook, a message appears and the macro stops running.
Windows Changing the size and position of the windows for the workbook when
the workbook is opened.
Moving, resizing, or closing the windows. (However, users can hide and
unhide windows.)
Note In the Visual Basic Editor (Visual Basic Editor: An environment in
which you write new and edit existing Visual Basic for Applications code
and procedures. The Visual Basic Editor contains a complete debugging
toolset for finding syntax, run-time, and logic problems in your code.),
programmers can protect macros so that the macros cannot be viewed or
changed by users. Programmers can protect macros by using the Protection
tab of the Project Properties dialog box in the Visual Basic Editor (Tools
menu, Project Properties command). For more information, see Visual Basic
Help (Microsoft Visual Basic Help: To get help for Visual Basic in Excel,
point to Macro on the Tools menu, and then click Visual Basic Editor. On
the Help menu, click Microsoft Visual Basic Help.).
To hide an entire workbook so that users cannot see it but can gain access
to contents such as macros (macro: An action or a set of actions you can
use to automate tasks. Macros are recorded in the Visual Basic for
Applications programming language.), use the Hide command on the Window
menu, and then save the hidden workbook.
Protection of confidential data
Excel features related to hiding data or locking data with passwords are
not intended to secure or protect confidential information in Excel. These
features are merely meant to obscure data or formulas that might confuse
some users or to prevent others from viewing or making changes to that
data.
Excel does not encrypt data that is hidden or locked in a workbook. To help
prevent modification of confidential data and to help protect it from being
viewed, you may want to limit access to any workbook files that contain
such information by storing them in locations that are available only to
authorized users.
--------------------
From: "Michael San Filippo" <
[email protected]>
Subject: Looking for security
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 11:41:05 -0400
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I have developed a small application for time and billing. Not only do i
want to secure the source code but specifically want to secure it so that
any customer that buys this, cannot email it to their friends and let them
use it.
Does anybody have any kind of security that registers or prevents the use of
an excel spreadsheet on more than 1 computer?
Thanks in advance
Thanks
Koushik R
Microsoft
Global Partner Support
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