Digital Workshop

Hi All,

Several years ago I built an address book program and have updated it over the years. It works great and I've worked out many problems along the way with help from many people here on the forum. However, even though I thought it was secure because you need a password to get into the program I over looked something very important. The other day one of the techs where I work needed a serial number key that he needed to load a program on a computer and he could not get hold of me because I was off that day and out of touch. He knew about my address book program where I had the serial number he needed, but he could not retrieve it because he did not have a password to enter my address book program so he did something I had not thought about. Using Windows explorer (which I refer to as file manager) he double clicked on one of the .mdb files (there are three) which opened up in access and he easily found what he was looking for. Now what am I going to do?

Bottom line is this... I need to update the program and find out how to password protect the users databases out in the field so that my address book program will open the databases, and at the same time fix it so that if you double clicked on one the .mdb files and MSaccess opened it would ask for the password. Of course this would be a secret password to all but me, not the password to get into their program.

I have no idea how to complete this task or if it can even be done.

Morning Denn,

Long time no hear. That's an easy one for this dreary English morning. Access provides a function to save the database with a password. It'll depend on your version as to where it is, but I think, and this is a stretch of the grey matter, that it's under tools > security - but I could be wrong.

Then in Opus on the Database Tab add the same password (I think the password is just 'admin') and then the MDB will only open through Opus or with the correct password.

Do note that earlier versions of Access use simpler methods for securing the MDB that can be recovered with the right know how.

If the settings aren't quite right, give me a yell and I throw together a quick example to check.

Mack

Mackavi, it's an absolute pleasure to hear from you. Trust me when I say that a dreary English morning sounds wonderful. It's noon and 93 degrees on it's way up to 97 today and the humidity feels like it's 140% . We broke the local record yesterday at 98 degrees.

Now to the hard part... at least for me. I'm using MSaccess 2003. Last night I changed the password on one of the databases and it worked. After that when I would double click on that .mdb file it would open access which then would ask for the password before it would open it. Great so far. however I then tried putting the password in the program (under the database tab) but it would not open the database. I tried it several different ways, with a user name and without. BTW: MSaccess doesn't ask for a username, only a password. There are three databases in the program, the other two I did not change and they opened with no problems.

This is a two part problem. Even if I can get the program to open the database on my computer there are over 10,000 programs that have been downloaded from my site, and those are vulnerable to someone getting in through the back door by clicking on the mdb file. Once I get the program to open the databases that have passwords, I can update the program so people can replace the program they already have, but HOW do I insert the password into the databases they have already placed information into on their computers ?

I take it that's some old world unit of measurement - in mine 97 is for making a cup of British char But yeah, you're right, I'll stick with my rain.

As for the DB, it's kinda mad, but you have to set the password in the Published section (not the editor) of the DB tab. The username is 'admin' I checked.

As for part two; two solutions (though others might have more).

1. Create a publication that reads all the data from the unprotected DB into the protected versions and then delete old MDB and replace with new.

2. Use VBS, it's able to set the database password. Issue with this is that the password will be in the script, so you'll need some way to obscure it or if it can be passed a parameter, launch it from an Opus app.

Mack

Sorry to back to you a day late, but saying I've been busy is an understatement.


I'm confused, I thought you lived in the old world and I lived in the new world. I see that I should have added the word Fahrenheit as opposed to Celsius. And here I'm been made fun of by a man who drives on the wrong side of the road as opposed to me driving on the right side of the road


I set it in each and then in both, but it still would not open the database once I had set the password. And yes there is a username you can set under the DB tab, but what I was referring to was that when you double click on the MDB file and MSaccess opens, it only ask for a password to open the MDB file, not a username.


This seems to be the simpler way to go since I can't write VBS. However, I am loading it onto my computer right now. If I can get the hang of it I will pursue to learn it and then perhaps I can get this done... in about two years.

Once again, thank you Mackavi for your time and suggestions!

Hi Denn,

Know that feeling.

The left side thing pre-dates driving and is because the majority of people are right handed. Therefore, in the good old days when you could carry a sword (big point thing like a large Wii wand), and not get banged up under the dangerous weapons act, people preferred to have their fighting hand between them self and the person walking towards them (trusting lot us English).

I did try the DB thing. From Access 2003 > Database Tools > Set DB Password. Yes there is only a password.

Then in Opus, DB Tab > set DB password to same as above and username to 'admin'. Ran preview and works. Published and works. Note, I don't have the ODBC connect set-up any more.

Mack

Interesting bit of history. I've always wondered why we drove on different sides of the road. I suppose back then a left handed person had to learn to be ambidextrous.
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An update… I got it working, in fact it was probably working from the beginning, but I was publishing with an .ilm file, and I might add I was not thinking. As I would publish I would move the .exe file to a temporary folder with protected mdb files to check out, but I was not moving the .ilm file with it. After working with it and changing things I finally turned on the "light bulb over the head" and figured it out.

The good thing is that the new program will open .mdb files that have been password protected and .mdb files that are not protected. So the first part has gone well. Now onto the second part which I believe is going to take me quite a while, which is of course to be able to add a script which will take the information from the old database, copy it into a new PROTECTED database and then delete the old. Surely my plate runith over.

One thing of interest: I take it that your signature line which says "When you have explored all avenues of possibilities, what ever remains, how ever improbable, must be the answer." is from the immortal Sherlock Holmes who is one of my favorites.

Or it's why we don't have too many left handers.

Glad you got it working. If you're writing this in script, then it should be straightforward - just create a loop to read from the old and insert into the new.

Mack

P.S As for the last point, yes, it's elementary. The BBC have a new show (well three episodes) of a modern day Sherlock - well worth watching if you ever get in over there - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t4pgh