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senadFlag for Slovenia

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password protect an msaccess database

wow...just tried some pasword recovering tools for access and got depressed.
They unlock database like a piece of cake...
So tell me,is there a way to protect the database?
I tried encrypting it but still no good...
what do you think??
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aikimark
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1. What kind of protection?
2. From who are you protecting the database?
3. Do you need to protect the entire database or just certain tables?

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Generally, you can't provide 100% protection of a file that resides on a user's hard drive.  You can make it difficult, though.  
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ASKER

Entire database.
Whatever protection as long as it is not that easily opened.
It is a little stupid if you ship database with your app where you took
care that only authorised user uses/alters it then someone opens it up
just like that using the Access password.
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aikimark
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Try to pack the mdb file with password, and upon program startup place the code to unpack it. Preferably you shoul unpack it in the memory not on harddrive but considering the sizes it can grow you should not consider this solution.
You shoul place the unpacked (temporary) mdb with no extension (or different from mdb - as specified by aikimark) and place it in one of Windows's system folders with a name that you could invent , or make it look like some system file.
Upon CloseQuery you should close database, repack the mdb (after changing the file name ) back to your password protected archive and there you are.
   About perfect protection... there is none. You can only make it harder for someone to brake your protections, that's all.
* prepend and append some random bytes to the database
* create a bogus .LDB file (random data, read only)
senad,

Thanks for the points.  What protection method(s) did you choose?
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ASKER

I tend to switch to absolute database as it is much more robust and
secure.Best DB I've come across so far...Right now I only use password protection and a user suggestion
to limit access by file permissions within XP.