Why is my file being flagged as "Password Protected" when I already provided the correct password?

Once a scan is initiated, the MetaDefender Core attempts to open all the contents of the file to perform scanning. On its attempt to open the file, it will check if a password was provided by the user to unlock the file, as shown below.

You can check if your file is protected by attempting to open it on your machine, you will view a pop-up to enter a password. You can also view how the file was protected.

Examples:

Word Document. Navigate to File > Info > Protect Document

Excel Worksheet

Once unlocked, the FileType engine looks at the OLE structure to determine if the file is “encrypted” based on the OLE structure.

For example, if the OLE structure contains EncryptedPackage or EncryptionInfo, then the file will be determined to be encrypted.

MetaDefender Core will scan the file and return as “Password Protected” as shown below: