stopping copying and emailing of an Excel file

Hello everyone,

Our company has created a program in MS Excel 2003. I know how to password protect sheets and make the file Read-Only. I also know that a Macro could be formed, but we dislike that option because if the Macro is disabled we are back to square one. My Question is there anyway to stop a person from Copying or Emailing or distributing the program in any way to an unathorized person or Computer.

Thanks!

Hello Josh,

In short, the answer is no. Security is a relative matter. The greater the knowledge about programming and system's operation the less secure your program becomes. All of the safegaurds like worksheet protection, read-only, locking VBA projects, etc. are very simple to defeat, if you know how. This is best that Excel has to offer in program security, and if it is not sufficient for your needs, then you may want to consider making it a web based application. This would provide distribution with control, since only the interface can be accessed and not the program itself.

Sincerely,
Leith Ross