When searching for a "password remover," it is important to understand which type of lock you are trying to break: aziascreations/Excel-Worksheet-Password-Remover

(by @acidsad)

From a legal standpoint, using these tools is generally considered acceptable for (regaining access to your own intellectual property) but illegal for theft (accessing proprietary data without authorization).

For users afraid of Python, many repositories offer .bas files (Visual Basic for Applications). Users import these modules into the Excel VBA editor and run a macro to remove protection.

The arms race is shifting. With Microsoft pushing users toward cloud-based storage (SharePoint and OneDrive), the landscape is changing. In the cloud, permissions are handled at the user level, not the file level. You don't password-protect a sheet in SharePoint; you simply remove a user's permission to view it.

However, there are also some limitations: