Locking down propriety spreadsheets

Hi CFD,

A reply to a similar post from Dave Peterson:

>If your intellectual property is that important, then don't use excel.
>There's
>nothing you can do to stop the theives from getting to your stuff.

>Well, if you know anything about COM addins, you could compile your code.
>But
>that's beyond me.


Regards,

Howard

"CFD" <CFD.23v2um_1140999001.1075@excelforum-nospam.com> wrote in message
news:CFD.23v2um_1140999001.1075@excelforum-nospam.com...

>
> Having a little issue with some of our companies spreadsheets. People
> outside the company are using password crackers to hack the
> spreadsheets, and make changes, but are leaving our company name on the
> results. Clearly we not only want to protect our IP, but also ensure
> that our company is not associated with mangled spreadsheets, which
> might not produce the correct results.
>
> A simple password protection won't work, as it is too easy to hack that
> .. is there anyway that we can lock them down more strongly?
>
>
> --
> CFD
>
>
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You could try several (or all of the following) things. Put a lot of
crucial data and/or formulas referrencing data and ficticious data, to
formulas on SEVERAL other Workisheets in the double letter columns,
then use Conditional Formatting to make text white, (use several
different CF formulas, Format to white text, hide columns, move your
curser to column A, protect the worksheets with different passwords,
hide the worksheets, make some more hidden worksheets with phony data
and formlas and refer to them on your working worksheet.
You can create so may frustrating problems for a hacker they wil just
give up, even though they cracked the passswords. You can build on
this with imagination. ed

Another trick to foil finding the Conditional formatting (after doing
it differently in several areas of the worksheet, an example
=istext($B$1)., then condition to "white fontt". and copy to whatever
you want blanked out. In another cell put = isblank($AA$16) formatted
"white font" and copy it to SOME OF the same cells.

Remember, all of this is for your phony data to give the hacker's the
run around. Preserve a clear path for your people to read and
construct without unravelling all the garbage you inventeted for
hackers. ed