VBA Code Protection

[SamarthSalunkhe]

Hi,
I’m trying to find the best possible way to secure my vba code.
Currently I'm using the protect with password from VBA properties, but I’ve found there are many videos on YouTube showing how to bypass that password (using a hex editor and some other methods).

I'm working in treasury team where i have protect my VBA from unsecured use, can someone please help to protect VBA via another method.

Thank You.

 

[JackDanIce]

As you've discovered, VBA passsword protection is weak at best and simple brute nested loops over ascii values can break them (depending on length of password), let alone hex editors, modifying components of the zipped .xlsm file as well as other methods to crack VBA password.

I think it's almost improbable to do at the level you need, from within the Excel/VBE environment, however, curious if any other readers have methods or suggestions to share

 

[SamarthSalunkhe]

As you've discovered, VBA passsword protection is weak at best and simple brute nested loops over ascii values can break them (depending on length of password), let alone hex editors, modifying components of the zipped .xlsm file as well as other methods to crack VBA password.

I think it's almost improbable to do at the level you need, from within the Excel/VBE environment, however, curious if any other readers have methods or suggestions to share

Thanks Jack for your reply, I'm here just because I have used some macro protected Bank File's, in that file they have secured it on advance level (which is actually unbreakable), that macro also created by someone that means we can also do it.

 

[Marc L]

Hi,​

​

since Excel 2010 if updated or better with later versions the only good enough protection is the password at workbook level.​

​

At VBA level the same ways used by malwares & viruses can be applied like for example hidden modules via some add-in you can find on web​

or any trick on blogs …​

 

[diddi]

you need a third party compiler and hardware locking to really protect your intellectual property unfortunately. one side benefit however is execution speed is inproved

 

[Dan_W]

Some of the time, when someone is looking to protect their VBA code, it turns out what they're wanting to protect is in fact the content of the spreadsheet. If that's the case, you could always just encrypt it separately, but that's a huge hassle and not really practical. In terms of protecting the VBA code, depending on just how impenetrable the code needs to be, you could always obfuscate the final code (example). It can make the code very difficult to make sense of, but again, not uncrackable.

 

[SamarthSalunkhe]

Some of the time, when someone is looking to protect their VBA code, it turns out what they're wanting to protect is in fact the content of the spreadsheet. If that's the case, you could always just encrypt it separately, but that's a huge hassle and not really practical. In terms of protecting the VBA code, depending on just how impenetrable the code needs to be, you could always obfuscate the final code (example). It can make the code very difficult to make sense of, but again, not uncrackable.

Thank you Dan for sharing such useful method.