Passwords should be complex and as long as possible to prevent hackers from easily cracking them in a short amount of time. However, complex passwords are also easy to forget. Anyone who doesn’t carefully maintain their passwords or store them in a password manager database risks suddenly losing access to Windows, protected files, or internet services.
Read more: Best Password Managers 2024: Protect Your Online Accounts
There are a number of online tools that can read and decrypt readable or freely encrypted passwords for Windows operating system, Office programs, or specific file formats like PDF from configuration or registry files. However, many of them were written for older software versions and may no longer work today.
Microsoft has continued to strengthen its password encryption over the years, and other manufacturers have followed suit. However, it is still possible to extract stored passwords from certain types of files and applications. Programmer Nir Sofer offers a full suite of suitable tools on his website www.nirsoft.net, all of which can be downloaded for free.
Windows remembers the password for your router or connected NAS device and stores this data in the following folder:
C:Users(username)AppDataLocalMicrosoftCredentialsThe Nirsoft Credentialsfileview tool can read these files and display the passwords contained within.
You do not need to install the program. All you have to do is extract the compressed file. After running the EXE file, the options window will appear. In the top menu, select the Decrypt Credentials files option for all logged-in users > requires elevated privileges (run as administrator) and click OK.
Credentialsfileview will now display the contents of the files. For most entries, you will not be able to identify the applications they belong to. However, take a closer look at all the lines that contain your email address in the Username column or where the password type domain field appears within the input type.
Determining the Email Account Password
In order for your email program to retrieve messages from your email provider’s mail server, it needs to send a password. This data is stored in the program’s configuration files. You can use Mail Passview to view passwords.
Simply call up the tool and it will automatically recognize the email program you are using and search for the associated password. It also displays the server address, username, and POP3, IMAP, and SMTP ports used. After right-clicking on the password, you can copy it directly to the clipboard using Copy Password. Mail Passview supports Outlook, Thunderbird, Eudora, and others.
Making the PST File Accessible Again
Outlook stores emails, contacts, calendar data, etc. in a file with the .PST extension. To prevent others from accessing this data, it is protected with a password.
If you have forgotten this password, you can use the Pstpassword tool to create three passwords to access the data. This may seem strange, but it actually works because Outlook PST files do not store the password. Instead, the program creates a 32-bit hash value representing the original password.
This hash value can also be matched with a full set of other passwords due to the weak encryption algorithm implemented by Microsoft.
Make WLAN Passwords Visible
When connecting to a Wi-Fi network, Windows automatically saves the name, SSID, and password used. Once you re-enter the wireless network later on, the operating system can automatically log in again.
This feature is particularly useful for laptop users who frequently move between multiple locations. Thanks to this feature, they are constantly connected to the WLAN network and hence to the internet without having to enter the correct password each time.
In Windows OS, you can view the password for the WLAN network you are currently connected to. To do this, open “Settings” in the Start menu, go to “Network & Internet – Properties”, then scroll down and click on “Show” next to “Show Wi-Fi security key”.
The tool Wirelesskeyview also gives you an overview of all stored Wi-Fi passwords in Windows. Simply extract the compressed file and run the EXE file.
Read out the Windows Product Key
In order to work with Windows permanently, you need a valid product key. This is a 25-character code that you must enter into Windows within 30 days of installation. You will receive this when you purchase a license for the operating system.
If you have purchased a new computer and want to install Windows on it, you will need to enter the product key again. If you can’t find the license, you can read the key from the old installation registry. To do this, you need a tool like Produkey from Nirsoft. Simply run the EXE file and the program will display the product key for your Windows installation.
Display Passwords Stored in the Browser
All three major browsers have a built-in password manager. By default, the program saves the password that was entered each time you log in and automatically uses it for subsequent login processes. Of course, this password database is encrypted and protected.
Google Chrome asks you to enter your Windows password or personal identification number (PIN) to view passwords, while Edge requires you to log into your Microsoft account, and Opera and Firefox do not reveal stored data until you log into your account. However, if you no longer know your password, you will need to take different actions.
In this case, you can use Webbrowserpassview. The tool lists saved passwords in the four mentioned browsers immediately upon opening, and also indicates the username used and the browser that generates data from its password manager.
Nirsoft provides three parallel tools like Chromepass, Passwordfox, and Operapassview, which only display passwords for Chrome, Firefox, and older versions of Opera.
Download Password Cracker
Many malware programs specialize in installing software agents that search for passwords on other people’s personal computers and send them to the hacker’s computer over the internet. This can allow access to private data via email messages from external parties and selling product keys online.
If the user downloads tools to read this data, it will be detected by antivirus software. In this case, downloading is blocked in the browser from the start. This also applies to many Nirsoft tools, even if the hacking tools are not illegal. Please do not attempt to disable the antivirus program to allow downloads on your computer, as this can be dangerous. Instead, set the antivirus program to exclude your download folder from monitoring.
Temporarily Remove Folder Protection
In Defender, click on the program icon in the taskbar or open Settings in the Start menu, then go to Privacy & Security – Windows Security.
Click on Virus & Threat Protection, and within Virus & Threat Protection settings, click on Manage Settings. Under Exceptions, go to Add or Remove Exceptions and select Add Exclusion in the next window. In the following window, click on the folder and enter the path to your download folder. This is usually C:Users(username)Downloads.
Defender will now allow all downloads in this folder and will not prevent you from extracting the compressed file or running the program. Once you no longer need the Nirsoft tool, you should immediately re-enable folder protection. To do this, select the folder in Defender and click on “Remove”.
Bypassing the Browser Blocks
Sometimes the browser issues a warning when downloading a Nirsoft tool and does not allow you to download the file.
In this case, open the Properties in Google Chrome via the three dots menu and go to Privacy & Security – Security. In the next window, switch to No Protection and then switch back to Standard Protection after using the tool.
In Edge and Firefox, you can allow direct download in the message related to blocking harmful software. The browser may also send this report: The download was blocked due to a potentially unwanted application.
In this case, right-click on the download link in Google Chrome and Edge and select Save Link As. In the next window, enter the folder that you excluded from monitoring in Defender.
In Firefox, you will see the message: This file contains a virus or malware. Right-click and select “Allow Download” in the next window.
Switch Off Defender Smartscreen Warnings
Finally, Defender Smartscreen may be disabled and prevent the program from running. In the non-malicious version, a blue and green window will appear with the message: Your computer is protected by Windows.
This means that the Windows program database does not recognize the program, so it refuses to run it. If you are sure that the program is not harmful, click on More Information – Run Anyway to start the program.
You may also see the message “File is harmful” with a red background. This also comes from Smartscreen and indicates that it may be a harmful program. In this case, unlock it once for non-harmful applications by clicking More Information and Run Anyway.
This article originally appeared on our sister site PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.
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