How recovery works
There is no trick that opens an encrypted file. Recovery means guessing the password faster than you could by hand — so whether it works depends entirely on how much you remember about the password and how strong the encryption is.
First, we check the file
The analyzer reads the file's header in your browser. That is enough to identify the format, which encryption it uses, and — in many cases — whether a forgotten password is realistically recoverable at all. Reading the header does not need the contents, and nothing is uploaded for this step.
Many people find that a file will not open because it is damaged rather than locked. Knowing that first saves you from paying for recovery you do not need.
Then, we try to find the password
If recovery looks viable and you are the file's owner, you submit the file and we test candidate passwords against it on dedicated hardware. The search is guided by whatever you remember — a rough length, a word you used, a pattern from your other passwords. What you remember matters more than the hardware does.
Encryption type sets the ceiling. A file saved by an older version of Office or an archive using legacy encryption is often practical to recover. A modern file protected by a long random password usually is not, and no amount of hardware changes that.
What can happen next
The password is found
You get the password and a copy of the unlocked file on a private status page. That page is yours alone — it is not listed anywhere and the link is the only way in.
The password is not found
This is the common outcome for long, random passwords on modern encryption, and it is why we show you the evidence before asking for payment. Nothing is charged if we do not recover it.
The file turns out not to be encrypted
Sometimes a file will not open because it is damaged or was saved incomplete, not because it is locked. The analyzer usually tells us this before any recovery work starts.
Work only with files you own
We only accept files the submitter owns or is authorized to recover. Every submission requires an explicit ownership confirmation, and we will decline anything that looks like it belongs to someone else. Recovery depends on the exact file and password; no outcome is guaranteed.