You can open password-protected file without a password in PowerPoint 2002 (285496)

SYMPTOMS

Under certain circumstances, you may not be prompted for a password when you open a password-protected Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs when all of the following conditions are true:

A script prompted you earlier for the password.

-and-
You typed the password when prompted by the script.

-and-
The program that ran the script is still running.

For example, if you use a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) script to open a password-protected presentation file, PowerPoint is started without a user interface, and the password-protected presentation file is opened in memory.

If you then attempt to open your PowerPoint presentation again, you are not prompted for a password. This is because your script is holding the presentation and associated password open in memory.

WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, do one of the following:

Shut down the program that ran the script.
Start PowerPoint, open the protected file, and then click Close on the File menu.
In Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, select PowerPoint in the Close Program dialog box, and then click End Task.
In Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 or Microsoft Windows 2000, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, click Task Manager, select Microsoft PowerPoint on the Application tab, and then click End Task.