Windows search indexes show my passwords??

[swoop99]

I just got the following email:

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While doing some coding in VBA. I did a quick search using the windows search indexes for 'Password' to ensure no passwords from beta testing had been left in my pre-production code.

In windows search your excel files where displayed including the password(s) in plain text multiple times in the file.

I just thought you should know this, so that is can be corrected / obfuscated.

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Um....does anyone know what he's talking about? I've tried windows search, looking for the word "Password" contained in files, but none of my development files appear in the list.

[protonLeah]

1. Do you know who "he" is??
2. How many of your XL files have passwords and who did you send them to?
3. Are you using a firewall?
4. Does your e-mail application have spam filtering?
5. What was "he" selling?

What is the index?

Similar to the way the index in a book helps you to keep track of its contents, the index in Windows keeps track of the files on your computer. The index stores information about files, including the file name, date modified, and properties like author, tags, and rating. You will never see the index, but it is used by Windows to perform very fast searches of the most common files on your computer.

So: Why would Microsoft include file passwords in the index in the first place?
Say: b o g u s