Microsoft Access
--
Questions
--
Followers
Top Experts
Ms Access Security Concerns
I have researched a lot on the net and my conclusion is like in terms of security for Ms Access we are only given the MDE/ACCDE as a gold standard for protection, though the table & queries are still not protected. My concerns here are, are we assured that no one can convert back the MDE/ACCADE to MDB/ACCDB if the answer is that it is not possible, then we are still safe.
Why I’m seeking the above assurance is that, most of those people who are providing Ms Access protection uses VBA which means that in most cases they bind their code to computer mother body or Computer serial numbers, technically they also depend on MDE/ACCDE and a password, though a password is not even reliable for serious programmers.
Any comments on the above????????
Regards
Chris
Why I’m seeking the above assurance is that, most of those people who are providing Ms Access protection uses VBA which means that in most cases they bind their code to computer mother body or Computer serial numbers, technically they also depend on MDE/ACCDE and a password, though a password is not even reliable for serious programmers.
Any comments on the above????????
Regards
Chris
Zero AI Policy
We believe in human intelligence. Our moderation policy strictly prohibits the use of LLM content in our Q&A threads.
Yes, distributing as a mde/accde is the only real way to protect things. And yes, it is possible to convert a MDE/ACCDE back to a MDB/ACCDB, but there is only one person that has done it. It is not common knowledge.
Jim.
Jim.
Oh and as far as data, use SQL Server to store it, which can protect it.
It's also possible by the way to protect the data to an extent for normal users via file/directory security for a JET/ACE database, but a system admin could get at the data easily.
It's also possible by the way to protect the data to an extent for normal users via file/directory security for a JET/ACE database, but a system admin could get at the data easily.
Ok at least the VBA Code may be safe unless that one person decided to expose his/her knowledge over the internet.I was more concerned with VBA code because that is what drives the software!
Regards
Chris
Regards
Chris
EARN REWARDS FOR ASKING, ANSWERING, AND MORE.
Earn free swag for participating on the platform.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
membership
Log in or create a free account to see answer.
Signing up is free and takes 30 seconds. No credit card required.
Chris,
<<unless that one person decided to expose his/her knowledge over the internet.>>
That will not happen. He is a professional that develops products for Access as a living.
The person we are talking about is Wayne Phillips at EverythingAccess.com and the ability to do that was gained while creating those products (i.e. VBA Watchdog). He does offer recovery services for MDB/accdb's from a MDE/accde, but you must provide absolute proof that you own the rights to it.
Also, just to be clear, you don't get back an exact copy. Comments for example are gone, and some code may be slightly modified from its original syntax. Functionally it will be the same, but there can be slight variations.
<<unless that one person decided to expose his/her knowledge over the internet.>>
That will not happen. He is a professional that develops products for Access as a living.
The person we are talking about is Wayne Phillips at EverythingAccess.com and the ability to do that was gained while creating those products (i.e. VBA Watchdog). He does offer recovery services for MDB/accdb's from a MDE/accde, but you must provide absolute proof that you own the rights to it.
Also, just to be clear, you don't get back an exact copy. Comments for example are gone, and some code may be slightly modified from its original syntax. Functionally it will be the same, but there can be slight variations.
Thank you so much , that is great!
But using Environ("Username").. scnr.
Get a FREE t-shirt when you ask your first question.
We believe in human intelligence. Our moderation policy strictly prohibits the use of LLM content in our Q&A threads.
Are you trying to secure an internal application or one that you intend to sell to the public?
Are you concerned about protecting trade secrets in the form of code?
Are you concerned with protecting data?
Access is a poor choice for all of those things. You have to decide how important it is for you to use Access and what your risk might be. Any development tool and security you use can be broken given the right conditions. Just look at the recent news of the Equifax Data Breach. That has the potential to impact YOU personally (and ME too).
I have an application built with Access that is sold to the public. We distribute as .accde and offer the client the option of using ACE or SQL Server as the BE. The application manages a business process. Companies could build it themselves since there is nothing secret about the process. The cost of reverse engineering and then rebuilding the app themselves would be more than 5 years of license fees so there is little point in making the effort so it isn't something we are especially worried about. That's the benefit of third-party software. The cost of development and maintenance is amortized over the entire user base so for each user company, the cost is pretty much a bargain and that reduces the temptation to steal even further.
Data is a little harder to protect since the data really belongs to the user not to you. If we only offered ACE, it would be a little easier to hide the schema but since we prefer that they use SQL Server because it provides better protection to the data, they have direct access to the schema. They can do whatever they want with it. You would have to run your app as a service on your own servers (or servers that you control) in order to hide the schema from the client but that presents other issues.
Are you concerned about protecting trade secrets in the form of code?
Are you concerned with protecting data?
Access is a poor choice for all of those things. You have to decide how important it is for you to use Access and what your risk might be. Any development tool and security you use can be broken given the right conditions. Just look at the recent news of the Equifax Data Breach. That has the potential to impact YOU personally (and ME too).
I have an application built with Access that is sold to the public. We distribute as .accde and offer the client the option of using ACE or SQL Server as the BE. The application manages a business process. Companies could build it themselves since there is nothing secret about the process. The cost of reverse engineering and then rebuilding the app themselves would be more than 5 years of license fees so there is little point in making the effort so it isn't something we are especially worried about. That's the benefit of third-party software. The cost of development and maintenance is amortized over the entire user base so for each user company, the cost is pretty much a bargain and that reduces the temptation to steal even further.
Data is a little harder to protect since the data really belongs to the user not to you. If we only offered ACE, it would be a little easier to hide the schema but since we prefer that they use SQL Server because it provides better protection to the data, they have direct access to the schema. They can do whatever they want with it. You would have to run your app as a service on your own servers (or servers that you control) in order to hide the schema from the client but that presents other issues.
Best answer
Microsoft Access
--
Questions
--
Followers
Top Experts
Microsoft Access is a rapid application development (RAD) relational database tool. Access can be used for both desktop and web-based applications, and uses VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) as its coding language.