iOS 

A program for viewing entered passwords on a computer. Retrieving all passwords (web browsers, email programs, etc.) on Windows and Linux

If you can’t log into Windows 7 because you forgot or lost your account password, then this article will help you. It contains all effective ways to delete, reset or replace the password of any account(even the administrator) in the “seven” and recommendations are given on how to protect yourself in case the password is lost in the future. All the described methods to unlock a user account are absolutely safe if you follow the instructions and do everything carefully.

How to reset a forgotten password using Ophcrack

Ophcrack- a unique utility that allows you to restore access to any account in Windows 7 in just a few minutes. Moreover, it works in any edition of the OS, starting with XP, and can function from a bootable USB flash drive. The program’s operating mechanism is somewhat different from the password selection algorithms of similar applications and includes several components:

  • LM hash algorithm- passwords are stored in this format in Windows 7, the number of characters of which does not exceed 15;
  • rainbow tables- the mechanism is designed to recover encrypted passwords through the use of hashes with a complex process of reverse decryption.

The program can also unlock complex passwords by extracting them from registry files and then decrypting them using completely new methods of data processing, due to which the load on hardware resources is small, and the selection speed increases by orders of magnitude.

Using a bootable flash drive with Ophcrack

The algorithm below is relevant for computers that cannot be accessed using the following methods: reasons:

  • the password for one account is lost, but there are no other accounts;
  • It is not possible to access any user profile on this computer.

If you encounter such a case, you will have to follow instructions, which boils down to the following: creating a bootable USB drive based on a special version of Ophcrack and booting from this media to restore access to the account. In more detail, these instructions look like this:

For inexperienced users, it is recommended to select the first (graphical) operating mode of OphCrack: Ophcrack Graphic mode. But it should be taken into account that in graphical mode the program may not start, but in text mode it works flawlessly, although it requires certain skills in handling console programs.

If we consider working in a program with an interface in more detail in the next section, then we will dwell in more detail on using its console version. Although the only peculiarity here is the absence of windows and buttons. After launching the console version of the utility, it will automatically detect passwords for all accounts and display them in the “ Results».

Removing a password from Windows

What to do if you forgot administrator account password? The program will also help here Ophcrack, But if there is a network connection to download it. Let's consider the sequence of actions:


After a few seconds or minutes, depending on the complexity of the combination of characters in the password, it will be displayed in the “ NT Pwd».

Using system recovery tools

What to do, if no access to the Internet or another computer, do I need to log in to my account? Will help solve the problem Bootable USB drive or disk, containing a distribution of the Windows 7 operating system used on the computer.

In this case, resetting the Windows 7 administrator password is carried out as follows.

  1. We connect the boot drive of the same edition of the “seven” as installed on the PC.
  2. Reboot the PC.
  3. Call up the boot menu of the computer/laptop. This can be done using the F2, F9, F11 or other keys specified in the motherboard manual or on the BIOS boot screen.
  4. In the list of available devices, select the target USB drive to start the computer from.
  5. Press any key to boot from the selected media.
  6. Select the language of the system installed on the computer, and then click the Next button.
  7. Click the link « » in the window with the Install button to launch the Windows 7 OS recovery tools.
  8. In the parameters, select the command line to call the tool for executing system commands.
  9. In the window that appears, enter the command regedit and execute it using the Enter key. As a result, the classic registry editor window will open.
  10. In this window, as in the file manager with the display of directories in the form of a tree, go to the HKLM section.
  11. Through the main menu, call the command "", located in the menu " File».
  12. Select the file " config» - « SYSTEM", which has no extension.
  13. Set any file name without using Cyrillic characters and confirm it by pressing the enter button.
  14. Let's go to the bush " HKLM" - "entered_hive_name" - Setup.
  15. Double-click to open the key editing menu “ CmdLine».
  16. For the parameter value, enter “ cmd.exe" to launch Command Prompt before booting Windows 7.
  17. In the same way we set the value “ Setup Type"equal" 2 ».
  18. Select a new bush in HKLM.
  19. Call the command " Unload bush", located in the menu item " File».
  20. We restart the computer, as a result of which the command line will appear.
  21. At the command line, enter a command like net user username password and execute it with the Enter key. After this, the command line can be closed.

Thus, it is easy to recover a forgotten password as many times as you like, but using the proposed method on other people’s computers will not work due to the fact that changing the password is required when gaining access to any of the accounts.

Creating a flash drive to instantly reset a password for a specific account

If you don’t want to repeat the situation with a forgotten password, it’s better to make a floppy disk to reset it. By floppy disk we mean a flash drive, because the use of floppy disks and disks has not been relevant in recent years.

As a result, the wizard will generate a boot disk necessary to unlock the account for which the password has been lost.

Now, if for some reason you cannot log into Windows 7, click the Reset password button, insert the created disk or flash drive and follow the instructions. which boil down to clicking the Next button.

After reinstalling the system, changing the password, or creating a new account, the password reset disk will have to be created again.

Knowing how to reset the Windows 7 administrator password and having a flash drive with the key file, a forgotten password will no longer be a problem.

Video on the topic

In Windows 8, 7 and 10, you can protect your account. This way no stranger will enter there. But what if you forgot your password? Or did you purchase a computer that already has an account? In Win, you cannot recover your account using email. The code will not be sent via SMS. But there is no need to format the disk. Resetting Windows 7 password via USB flash drive is the solution to the problem.

If you forgot your Windows password, no problem.


  1. The UltraISO program is suitable for this. You can use another utility if you wish.
  2. Find it online and download it. The application is paid. But there is a trial version.
  3. Insert the drive.
  4. Launch the program.
  5. "File - Open". Select ISO file.
  6. Go to the “Boot” menu and click on “Burn Hard Disk Image”.
  7. In the "DiskDrive" section, select USB storage device.
  8. Next, you can format it if you haven’t done so before. The flash drive must be in
  9. "FAT32".
  10. Click on “Record”. The system will warn you that all data from the drive will be deleted. Confirm the action.
  11. Wait while the files are copied.

Replacing files

To remove a Windows 10, 8 or 7 password, enter recovery mode, and through it, enter the command line.

  1. In BIOS, set the external drive as boot priority.
  2. Once launched, the installation wizard will open.
  3. Choose language.
  4. Click on "System Restore". Do not click on "Install".
  5. A list of OSes will appear. Mark the one for which you cannot remember the code.
  6. In recovery options, click on “Command Prompt”. Now you see white font on a black background.
  7. Create a backup copy of “Utilman.exe” - enter “copy [System drive]:\Windows\system32\sethc.exe [System drive]:\File”. The file will be copied to the "File" folder.
  8. Now replace it with “copy [System-drive]:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe [System-drive]:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe”.
  9. The system will ask you to confirm the action. Write "Y" if you agree.
  10. Once the file has copied, click Reboot and remove the drive.
  11. In the BIOS, return to the previous settings. Now you can start the OS.

Reset

  1. When you log into your account, open “Accessibility” (the button at the bottom left).
  2. But the command line will start.
  3. To reset your Windows password, enter “net user [Username] [New Code].” If there is a space in the name or cipher, enclose it in quotation marks.
  4. If you want to remove the code, put two quotes without any characters between them.
  5. Restart your computer again and calmly log into your account.
  6. Return the "Utilman.exe" file. Boot from the flash drive again, open recovery mode and command prompt. Write in it “move [System drive]:\File\Utilman.exe [System drive]:\Windows\System32\Utilman.exe”

If you cannot log into your Win account, this does not mean that you have lost all user data. In Windows XP, 7, 8, 10, resetting a password from a flash drive is a very simple task. Although this has its downsides. It turns out that anyone can log into the account. Protect your personal information in several ways - not just with the code in your account.

If you suddenly forgot the password for your Windows account, then you have no choice but to look for a way to reset it or install a new operating system, which in my opinion is complete madness in this case :) Nowadays you can find many different reset methods on the Internet passwords for Windows operating systems using the built-in boot tools of Windows itself, as well as using third-party special programs. Some methods are suitable for some versions of Windows, some for others, and some methods are too complicated for beginners. Previously, in one of the articles, I showed one way to reset a password using a bootable console program built on Linux, however, all actions there must be performed in the form of commands on a black screen and for beginners this may be difficult.
In this article, I will show you the simplest option for resetting an account password in any version of Windows (I even tried it on Windows 10) using the Reset Windows Password boot program. The reset process takes just 4 steps!

I would like to warn you right away that if you used a Microsoft account to log in to your computer, and not a standard local one, then none of the programs will be able to reset its password, since the Microsoft account password can only be changed on the company’s website. Therefore, this method, like all similar ones, only works if you have forgotten the password for a standard local Windows account!

The program is bootable, that is, it cannot simply be installed on a computer as is usually done. The program will be launched from a disk or flash drive when the computer boots. Those. The program will need to be written to a disk or flash drive first!

Creating a bootable disk/flash drive with the Reset Windows Password program and launching it

After the program is downloaded, you need to write it to a disk or flash drive. Instructions for burning the program as an ISO file on a CD/DVD disc are located, and for writing the program as an ISO file on a flash drive -.

Since modern laptops can often be found without a disk drive for reading disks, I think that the method of writing a program to a flash drive will suit most, especially since, perhaps, every computer owner has one.

After you burn the program to a disk or flash drive, you need to run it. To do this, you should restart your computer and configure your BIOS so that the computer boots not from the hard drive as usual, but from a recorded flash drive or CD/DVD disc.

In a separate article, I gave instructions on setting up the BIOS to boot your computer from a disk or flash drive, read it if you have difficulty loading the program:

Each computer may have its own way of configuring booting from a specific device, so it is impossible to give clear recommendations... But the article at the link above should help most.

When the program starts to launch, you will see a window similar to loading regular Windows 7:

Working with the program

When the Reset Windows Password boot program starts, the first window will ask you to configure the program.

First of all, select the Russian language (1), then in the “Operation mode” section select the item “SAM - working with regular accounts” (2) and at the end under the inscription “What do you want to do?” select “Reset or change user password” (3). When everything is configured, click “Next” (4) at the bottom of the window.

The program will perform a password reset (i.e. erasing it, resetting it to zero), and not replacing the old password with a new one!

In the next window we can select the path to the “SAM” and “SYSTEM” folders to reset the password.

If you use standard Windows, where nothing has been changed globally, then the paths do not need to be changed and they will already be set correctly:

C:\Windows\System32\Config\SAM
C:\Windows\System32\Config\SYSTEM

At step No. 3, select in the window the Windows account for which we want to reset the password (1) and click “Next” (2).

At the last 4th stage, click the “Reset / Change” button:

You will be prompted to create a rollback file. Using this file, you can restore the ability of the system to work if it “breaks” after running the program.

In general, the program does not go where it is not needed and does not make any serious changes in Windows, so it is easier not to create a rollback file by clicking “No” in this window.

A notification will appear indicating that the account has been changed (the password has been reset) and you can close the program and check the changes. Just click “OK” (1) in the notification window and then “Exit” (2) in the program itself.

Now remove the disk/flash drive with the program from the computer and reboot it. Windows should boot immediately without asking for a password!

As you can see, this method for resetting Windows account passwords is very simple and difficulties may arise, perhaps, only at the stage of loading the program from a flash drive or disk. But among all the methods for resetting a password, I did not find a single one that allows you to reset the password without booting from a special boot disk. Therefore, you still can’t do without it, and it’s easier to figure out how to reset your password than to reinstall Windows :))

Have a nice day and good mood! See you in the next articles;)

Don't leave your laptop or desktop computer unattended, even for a couple of seconds! Otherwise, passwords from your page on social networks, blog and email may fall into the hands of an attacker. This is now possible thanks to a free program called WebBrowserPassView. Thanks to it, the secrets on your computer will become clear, and you won’t even have time to blink.

The software is also available in Russian, and you can download it without any restrictions on the website nirsoft.net. Moreover, the program does not require installation. You can run it, say, from a flash drive on a computer that is momentarily left without supervision from its owner. The software will only need 2 seconds to do everything. It will scan browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Opera and remove all passwords from them, including passwords for accessing popular sites Facebook, Yahoo, Google and Gmail. The software will do all the work automatically and you can even print out all the obtained information using the program.

As Ilya Sachkov, CEO of Group-IB, explained to RBC daily, such software cannot be considered malicious. The program is executed with the user's permission, but it is executed locally and does not send any data anywhere. It automatically provides access to information that can already be viewed in other ways. This program does not pose any new threats.

WebBrowserPassView displays only credentials saved in browser forms, therefore, according to Mr. Sachkov, it is enough not to save passwords using standard web browser tools, and in this case the user is not in any danger. In addition, this software cannot retrieve passwords protected, for example, by the master key of the Opera web browser. Passwords in IE are encrypted using the web addresses they belong to, so if you delete your browsing history, you won't be able to retrieve the passwords either.

The first step is to use password-protected user accounts and lock the computer when left unattended. You should not save credentials for important websites in browsers. Where possible, it is recommended to use additional protection in the form of master keys. The main thing to remember is that not only such a harmless utility can retrieve passwords. Much more often, the login-password pair is stolen by attackers using malware, which really poses a threat to the security of users’ private information, the expert notes.

According to project manager ADV/web-engineering co. Nikita Dubinkin, the WebBrowserPassView program gets access to passwords by scanning browser system files. Moreover, the program can work with all browsers on Windows OS, except for the Safari browser from Apple. To use this program, an attacker must gain access to the target's computer. The computer must be authorized under the account used by the victim.

“This particular program is not dangerous for users of the Apple Safari browser and is not dangerous for those who use Linux or MacOS on their PC. However, the very existence of this program shows that password encryption methods in browsers are not reliable enough. And, in order not to be afraid for the security of your own data, you should refuse to store passwords for important sites (e-mail, online banking systems, etc.) in the browser,” recommends Mr. Dubinkin.

Additional Information.

Even if you don't intend to collect passwords on other people's computers, programs like LaZagne are a very good way to think about how vulnerable our privacy is when our computers are not under our control: at airports, when they are checked in as luggage, in repair shops, after sales. and so on.

And if you are going to hack other people’s passwords, then I would like to draw your attention to the fact that LaZagne is a command line utility, and you can come up with various interesting options for its hidden use on machines remote for you to extract target passwords...

Password recovery programs

I think you already understand what I will talk about LaZagne.

As good alternatives, you can recall programs from:, and others. The programs have quite self-explanatory names (the first retrieves passwords from web browsers, the second from email clients, the third from instant messaging clients).

These are absolutely free programs, without advertising and garbage, many of them have a command line interface, and they are very undemanding of resources. But they only work on Windows and are closed source. If the program is closed source, then this leaves room for thought: it simply extracts passwords, or it extracts passwords AND transfers them to whoever needs them...

LaZagne is open source and written in Python 2, i.e. If you know how to set up the Python runtime and install the necessary dependencies, you can run source scripts directly (as you can do on Linux). For those who don’t know how/don’t want to figure it out, executable files have been collected that also contain all the necessary dependencies.

Speaking of Linux. The version for this OS differs from the version for Windows in that it supports fewer programs for which it can recover passwords.

By the way: who knows other similar open source functional programs - write about them in the comments, it will be interesting to see them.

Instructions for using LaZagne on Windows

The program is very easy to use. If you want to use the ready-made executable file, then go to the releases page: https://github.com/AlessandroZ/LaZagne/releases and select the latest version for Windows (file Windows.zip).

Unzip the downloaded file. Open Command Prompt in Windows ( Win+x) and select there " Command line" or " Command Line (Administrator)" In theory, as described in the official documentation, when the program is launched as an administrator, it should find passwords for all users, plus the Wi-Fi password. On the contrary, on the command line as an administrator, the program does not work at all (it does not find anything). You may need to run it in a different way, for example:

C:\> runas /user: \administrator cmd

C:\> runas /user: \cmd

But this didn’t work for me either (since my account doesn’t have a password, but to launch it like this it must have a password). I didn’t bother with this too much, but simply ran it on the command line as a regular user. Let's go straight to the place where it worked for me)))

You can drag the executable file into the command line window that opens (so as not to type its location by hand). Add space after space all so that it looks something like this:

Here's my result:

LaZagne.exe all -oN

The file is saved not relative to the location of the running program, but relative to the current working directory (the one visible at the command line prompt). For example, in my case this is C:\Users\Alex\, which means the file with the found passwords is saved in C:\Users\Alex\results\

You can also use the option -oJ to save in Json format or option -oA- to save in two formats at once. By the way, for me, it saves normally in Json, but when I choose to save as plain text, only a few passwords are saved.

If you also have problems with this, then you can use a banal output redirection:

LaZagne.exe all > logons.txt

If you want to search for passwords only for browsers:

LaZagne.exe browsers

You can even run a search only for certain browsers, for example Firefox:

LaZagne.exe browsers -f

For a complete list of available options and supported software, see the program help.

Conclusion

LaZagne is very easy to use and does a very good job of finding passwords on your computer. The program continues to actively develop and new scripts are regularly added that allow you to search and recover passwords for an even larger number of programs.

You can protect yourself to some extent from this program if, for example, you use a master password for browsers (that support it).

You should always remember about such programs if you use public computers (for example, in an Internet cafe) or if your computer falls out of your possession for at least some time (when checked in as luggage, returned for repair, or sold).

When selling, you should not rely on simply removing or formatting the hard drive. Forensic tools (like Autopsy) are capable of recovering data. By the way, Autopsy, in addition to passwords, will be able to show history, web browser cookies, sites visited, information about the time the computer was used (generated by many factors) and much more.