XLS Padlock Frequently Asked Questions
Below you will find some answers to frequently asked questions.
Feel free to contact us or post your query to our forum too.
Security
Although you can mark several cells for protection in one time, we don’t recommend protecting all cells: this would slow down execution of Excel.
The goal of our formula protection is that if someone manages to remove the protection, protected cells will stop working and thus the workbook becomes useless. So basically, you should choose important cells to protect with XLS Padlock and optionally use the hidden attribute for all other remaining ones.
There are known tricks to deprotect hidden cells through password cracking, but this requires VBA. If you block access to VBA editor with XLS Padlock, this should be OK.
Note that it is possible to disable the formula bar in XLS Padlock but this doesn’t really secure formulas.
XLS Padlock generates compiled workbooks in EXE format (which is the standard Windows Win32 app format). You should never send EXE files by email. They will be deleted before reaching the recipient.
For security reasons, you should upload the EXE file to a file hosting service or a web server or a FTP server. For instance, you can use dropbox.com, or cloud solutions such as Amazon S3.
A: Absolutely not. XLS Padlock is designed with a strictly local architecture to ensure maximum confidentiality.
Local Processing: The software runs entirely on your local computer. The compilation process (converting Excel workbooks into applications) happens on your machine, not in the cloud.
No Data Transmission: Your Excel source workbooks are never uploaded, transmitted, or accessible to G.D.G. Software during the protection process or normal use.
Zero Access Policy: G.D.G. Software has no technical means to remotely access, view, or decrypt your customer data or workbook contents. Access to your data is only possible if you voluntarily and explicitly share your project files and credentials with our support team for troubleshooting purposes. In such cases, your data is treated with strict confidentiality and deleted after the support ticket is resolved.
Note: The only data exchanges with our servers occur for the validation of your software license (activation) or if you explicitly choose to send a bug report via the error reporting system. These exchanges contain technical metadata only, never your spreadsheet data.
