Is project protecting VBA code secure - which alternatives are there

[hjpal]

I have written vba code for word and excel 2007 and want to lock project
for viewing.

Goggling around tells, that office 2007 uses 128 AES protection where as
word 2003 is less - maybe 64 bit.
But you can easily save a word 2007 file as a word 97-2003 file, and
open the project. So the 128 AES protection seems to get lost in the
conversion process.

I have also found searching around, that a protected project may be
opened simply by using af vba password bypasser program, which means,
that the password does not even have to be cracked.

I all seems unsecure.

So is it possible to protect your code so it is not easily crackable?

Is there another way to protect project code from viewing- e.g. convert
the vba code in ThisDocument and the module into a DLL and call the DLL
from Document_Open and from macroes within the document?

 

[hjpal]

Is a COM add-in not the same as a DLL add-in?

May Visual Studio Express be used to write a COM add-in to be uses in
word and excel?

 

[Tony Jollans]

The point was that you can't use VBA if you want to hide the source code effectively.

It is not something I know much about, but I believe Visual Studio Express does NOT support creation of Word/Excel AddIns.