I recently helped a client recover a forgotten Windows password using a couple of different tools. In the end, we were able to reset the administrator password to a blank password so that he could log into Windows. It was quite a long and complicated process, but it worked. Unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all†way to reset your Windows password, and depending on which version of Windows you have installed, you may have to try different methods.
After all, there is also no real guarantee that you will be able to crack the password. There are so many articles already written on how to recover or reset your password that I’m not going to reinvent the wheel, but instead point you to the best online resources I’ve used to crack Windows password.
1. Ophcrack Live CD My favorite way to remove or crack Windows password is by using Linux Live CD. These are special Linux distributions that run directly from CD (no installation required) and are specially designed to crack Windows passwords. You can read the documentation to see how to use it.
Just burn the ISO and boot from the CD and the program will work right away. However, it may not work with very complex passwords, as it actually tries to figure out the password, not reset it. A buddy of mine at How-To Geek has a great tutorial on using Ophcrack
In addition, Ophcrack uses password tables to brute-force user passwords. You can download their free spreadsheets, but it won’t crack long passwords. In such cases, you can purchase larger password tables for between $ 100 and $ 1000.
2. Standalone NT password editor and registry. It is a very small program, only 3MB in size, that you can burn to and boot from a CD. It will automatically detect Windows installation and account names (if everything was installed in the default Windows directories). With this program, you can reset or remove your Windows password, which means it doesn’t matter how long or complex it is.
The program was recently updated four years later and now supports password cracking all the way to Windows 8. It’s a bit tricky to use, but About.com has a great screenshot guide that walks you through the process, so be sure to check which one.
3. Login Recovery – Login Recovery is a website that has a program that you can either download to a floppy disk or a CD that you then use to boot. If the computer is connected to the Internet, it will automatically download the encrypted data to its servers and begin the password recovery process. If you don’t have an Internet connection, it will create a file that you then manually upload to its site.
I tried this site and it didn’t work with my password, which was 11 characters long and mostly characters, numbers and letters. However, if the password is simpler, they can probably crack it.
4. John The Ripper is another free password cracker that works on Windows, Linux and Mac, so it is useful for any Mac or Linux user who wants to recover a password. Quite easy to use and comes with good instructions so most people can follow them. If you need a step-by-step guide to using John the Ripper, read this article at 101Hacker.com
5. Knoppix STD – G4TV has a good article on another Linux distribution that you can download and use to crack Windows password. Follow the detailed instructions he gives, and if the password is not too long or complex, he will be able to crack it!
As you can see, the best way to crack Windows password is by using Linux! For some, this may seem overwhelming, but it’s worth it if you don’t want to reinstall Windows and lose all your data! Have questions, leave a comment!
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