I was responsible for a load of Excel workbooks at my last employer.
I got an email from my ex-boss earlier today (yesterday now). that I have only just seen it.
He is politely asking me for the passwords for many Excel workbooks that I created. These are the master passwords for editing structure, updating macros etc, not opening workbooks. The workbooks have always been available to open and change values.
I'm not supposed to have any passwords, per the settlement agreement.
Considering I was made "redundant", part of me thinks FU, however, considering the send off I got, I intend to send over all the ones that I recall during office hours later today.
So, my question is, will there be any legal implication in doing this, given what my settlement agreement says?
|
|
Just for clarification, I haven't written any down or otherwise recorded them, they are easily remembered but not guessable.
|
|
A quick google will provide a method to remove the passwords in just a few seconds, I'd just say I couldn't remember them and direct them to the method! eg www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x23vZIRYRs
|
>>A quick google...
That certainly worked for sheet passwords as they were stored within the XML for the page.
Unfortunately these are workbook level passwords and are properly encrypted and that trick doesn't work.
|
>> So, my question is, will there be any legal implication in doing this, given what
>> my settlement agreement says?
Legally*, anything and everything you created at your employment, for your employment, using employers facilities, belongs to them. This includes the passwords.
*in your contract of employment and it seems in your severance package.
Last edited by: Zero on Thu 9 Jan 25 at 08:34
|
>> I'm not supposed to have any passwords, per the settlement agreement.
Whatever the wording of the settlement agreement if you can remember passwords there's not much they can do. I can still remember the main one on my login from the MoJ.
I'd suggest a quick chat to establish how they're to be sent - encrypted email? - and do what you can for them.
I was phoned 'out of the blue' by the IT person at my old CA wanting the 5 digit pin for the mobile I handed in when I left. I'm pretty sure I've used the same 5 digits elsewhere - they were based on a train time when I was commuting - but I think the risk was too small to bother with and told her.
|
Slightly O/T - when I worked for the Coal Board I was the sole (COBOL) programmer on a departmental computer managed essentially by non-computer literate folk (as I was at the start of the pilot we were running under - that was the purpose of it - to see how non-computer people could manage new fangled mini computers!!).
I used to go back to the Christmas parties for three or four years and was often asked technical stuff to do with what I'd coded and how it worked. One year they asked me where to find the source code for the many common subroutines I'd written and called in many programs as they needed to modify them. Turned out the computer management team had deleted them, not knowing what they were, and they'd been missing so long they weren't on the backups either. (With only 2 x 288mb disks they were always short of space)
If the change was essential that would have rendered most of my programs useless, which would have hit them hard as one of them in particular was what might now be called a workflow suite which processed graduate applications from receipt to outcome. (The NCB was a major player on the university milk round and had some good graduate schemes. I wonder if the milk round still exists!).
That was the last Christmas party I was invited to LOL.
|
Texted my ex-boss this morning to confirm the email was from him and it was (just in case it was spoofed).
I have texted the passwords over with some odd possible variations that may have crept in over time.
I have already rec'd a text back confirming that they work and thanking me.
|
|
Email them (and keep a copy) telling them to change the passwords immediately. Not your responsibility under any circumstances then.
|
As always, when considering legal documents, ask yourself who is going to sue you, why, for what, and whether they’re likely to be successful.
Your old boss is in a hole. You’re helping him.
He’s not going to sue you: if he were to, then what would he sue you for (being helpful!), and how do you think the courts would regard you for helping out your old employer.
Not a worry on any of those counts.
|
Work Passwords...Being Asked For Them - zippy
