If you’ve forgotten your password but know that it was saved somewhere on your computer, you can access your saved Windows passwords and see if it is there. Windows actually keeps a list of all your saved passwords and lets you access them whenever you want.
These saved passwords are from your web browsers, Wi-Fi networks and other services that you use on your computer. These passwords are fairly easy to find out because your computer has a built-in tool that lets you do this.
View saved Windows passwords with Credential Manager
The feature that stores your logon information on a Windows 10 computer is called Windows Credential Manager. It keeps track of all your passwords on the Internet, as well as other Windows passwords, and lets you access and use them when needed.
The web passwords it saves are usually taken from Internet Explorer and Edge. Your Chrome, Firefox and other web browser passwords will not show up in the tool. For these browsers, you can check their settings menu to find and access the option that shows your passwords.
- Search for Control Panel using Cortana Search and open the Panel.
- Click on the option labeled User Accounts because the option you are looking for is there.
- On the next screen, click the Credential Manager option to open the tool on your computer.
- When Credential Manager opens, you will see basically two tabs called Web Credentials and Windows Credentials.
The Web Credentials section stores all your browser passwords. These are the passwords that you use to log into various websites.
Windows credentials store your other passwords, such as a NAS drive password, etc. If you are not in a corporate environment, you most likely will not use this section.
- To open a password for recording, click the down arrow next to it. Then click the Show next to password link.
- You will be prompted for your Windows account password. If you use your fingerprint to unlock your device like I did, you will be prompted to scan it to continue.
- It will immediately display the password on your screen.
- Find the Command Prompt by searching for Cortana and hit when running as administrator.
- Type the following command in the Command Prompt window and press Enter. It will show Wi-Fi networks for which passwords are stored.
netsh wlan show profiles
- Write down the name of the WiFi network for which you want to find the password.
- Type the following command, replacing NAME with the name of your WiFi network and press Enter.
netsh wlan show profile name = NAME key = clear
- Look at the Security Settings section. Here you will find the entry “Key Content”. The value next to it is your WiFi password.
- Download and run the application on your computer.
- It will immediately scan and display any WiFi passwords it could find on your screen.
- If you want to copy a password, right-click it in the application and select Copy Selected Password.
- Download and run the application on your computer.
- Use the Root Folder drop-down menu to select the root folder. Then click the Auto-fill button to auto-fill some of the options on the screen.
- Enter your account password in the Windows Login Password field and click OK.
- You should be able to view your saved Windows Vault passwords.
- Start Windows Credential Manager from Control Panel.
- Click the arrow icon next to the password you want to enter delete.
- Select the option that says “Delete” at the end of your credentials.
- It will ask if you really want to remove the password from your computer. Click “Yes” to continue.
View saved WiFi passwords in Windows 10
Unfortunately, Credential Manager does not allow you to view saved Wi-Fi passwords. However, there are two other ways to access Windows stored passwords for your wireless networks.
These methods should allow you to access passwords for all WiFi networks you have ever connected to.
Use the command line to open saved WiFi passwords
The command line utility lets you perform a number of tasks on your computer, one of which is to view your saved WiFi passwords It can be used to get a list of all your networks and then you can select the network for which you want to view the password.
Basically, you’re going to just copy and paste the commands, so even if you haven’t used this tool before, you should be fine.
Use the app to access your saved Wi-Fi passwords
If you need to access stored Wi-Fi passwords too often, the command line method is not ideal for you, as it requires you to enter a command every time you want to view the password. The best option would be to use a third-party application that allows you to easily and quickly reveal saved Windows passwords.
One such app is WiFi Password Revealer by Magical Jelly Bean. This is a free app that you can use on your Windows 10 computer to view Wi-Fi passwords.
View Windows Vault passwords using an app
Some of the saved Windows passwords are stored in Windows Vault on a Windows 10 computer. If the password you are looking for is there, you can use a free app to find and reveal it on your computer.
There is a VaultPasswordView application that allows you to access all the passwords stored in the Windows store on your computer.
Delete saved passwords on Windows 10
Since your computer stores most of the passwords that you use on your computer, it may even have passwords that you don’t actually use. Optionally, you can delete these saved passwords on your Windows 10 computer.
They can be removed from the Windows Credential Manager on your PC.
Passwords are easy to forget, especially if you need to remember them. Are you the one who needs to see your saved passwords in order to log in somewhere, or do you remember all your passwords? Join the comments below.
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