Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ category

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How to Reset Active Directory Password When You Forgot It

May 31st, 2012 by Admin

Active Directory allows Windows network administrators to centrally manage the user accounts, and other resources on a network. Users can use a single username and password to log in to any computer on the Active Directory domain. If you forgot domain administrator password and don’t have any other administrative account, you’ll lose full control over your Active Directory server. Is there any way to reset a lost Active Directory password?

Many people will think of some tools such as Offline NT Password and Registry editor, Ophcrack, Hiren’s Boot CD or Ultimate Boot CD. These tools may be a good choice when you forgot Windows local admin/user password, but none of them support Active Directory user passwords. As it’s known to us, Microsoft keeps encrypted passwords of Windows local accounts in SAM database, while using much stronger algorithms to secure Active Directory passwords and saving them in NTDS database. Cracking a lost Windows password is quite difficult for us, not to mention  cracking Active Directory password. But it doesn’t mean we can’t get around the problem. We can still reset Active Directory password quickly and easily.

With Password Recovery Bundle we can reset lost Active Directory password on Windows Server 2008, 2003 and 2000. It works even if your Active Directory account is locked out or disabled. The password resetting procedure can be done in 2 steps:

Step 1: Create a Active Directory Password Reset Disk
First we need to find another accessible computer to download and install Password Recovery Bundle. Launch the program and click the Windows Password button, it allows you to create a password reset disk, which will be used to reset your lost Active Directory password.

Step 2:  Reset Active Directory Password
Insert the Active Directory password reset disk into your domain controller. Restart the computer and have it to boot from the password reset disk. When the loading procedure is complete, you’ll see the Reset Windows Password program. Choose  your Active Directory database (ntds.dit), the program will display a list of Active Directory user accounts. Select a user whose password you already forgot, then click Reset Password button. The program will immediately change the Active Directory password to a new one: Password123.

Restart your domain controller and remove the Active Directory password reset disk, you’ll be able to log in to your Active Directory user account using the new password. It’s that easy!

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Posted in Active Directory Password, Others, Tips & Tricks

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Reset Windows 7 Password with Windows Installation CD

May 29th, 2012 by Admin

Forgot Windows 7 password and can’t log on your computer? I’m going to show you a really easy way to reset Windows 7 password, without having to buy or download any third-party software.

Note:  This trick is only intended for experienced users who forgot Windows password.  For average computer users, please use the professional software – Reset Windows Password – to reset lost or forgotten Windows 7 password.

Step 1
In order to do this, you must have a Windows installation CD or DVD. Any Windows 7, Vista or XP CD or DVD will work.

First you have to boot from the installation CD. Most PC’s are already set up to use the CD/DVD drive as the first boot device, which means you only have to insert the CD/DVD and restart the PC. Before Windows begins to load, you will see a message that says “press any key to boot from CD”, just press any key. However, if your PC is not set up to boot from the CD/DVD first, you will have to set it as your first boot device in the BIOS setup. If you don’t know how, it’s really easy. Soon as you turn your PC on, you can enter the BIOS setup by pressing the DEL key. Although you would normally use the DEL key, the key you have to press varies from PC to PC, but it will either be the DEL, F1, F2, ESC, or F10 key.

You have to be quite quick while doing this. The most sure-fire way of doing it correctly would be to turn your PC on and keep pressing the button until you get the BIOS screen.

Once you’re at the BIOS screen, navigate through the menus looking for something like “1st boot device, 2nd boot device”, or anything related to boot order. It is different with each PC, but it’s really strait forward. You should set the first boot device as the CD/DVD drive, and the second as your HDD (Hard Disk Drive). It wont matter what the third or fourth are.

Step 2
How that you’ve booted from the CD, you will have to option to install or repair Windows, click repair your computer. You will see various option as shown in the image bellow, click Command Prompt.

Step 3
Now that you’re in the command prompt, we are going to use a couple of commands that will allow you to reset Windows 7 Password.

First type copy c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe c:\
Next type copy /y c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe
Now reboot the PC (remember to take the installation disk out)

Step 4
So you’ve restarted your PC and you’re at the login screen. Press the Shift key 5 times to bring up the command line interface. Now type net user your_name your_new_password.

For example, if the name of the account you want to reset the password for is called Duncan05 and the password you want to change to is Pass1234, you would type net user Duncan05 Pass1234.

That’s it, you can now login!

Note: The command we used earlier copied over the sethc.exe, replacing it with cmd.exe, which is why we were able to access the command line at the login screen. However, the first command we used backed up the sethc.exe the hard-disk. To restore it in Windows, go the Start Menu and type cmd in the search box. Then in the results, right-click “cmd” and then choose “run as administrator”.

You can the use the command c:\sethc.exe file back to c:\windows\system32\sethc.exe to restore the original sethc.exe file.

Sethc.exe is used to invoke accessibility options through the Shift key. However, you will not have any issues if you decide not to restore the original file.

This trick is very useful when you forgot Windows 7 password.

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How to Reset Your Lost Router Password

May 27th, 2012 by Admin

I received an email the other day asking me how to reset a router’s username and password back to the default username and password. I thought this was a great question and worthy of a post.

In order to get your router back to the original settings, you must push in the reset button (usually on the back of the router) for somewhere between 10 and 30 seconds depending on the router.  You may need a pin or something small to push in the button, because it can be recessed.  Once you have reset the router, the username and password will be changed to the defaults, admin and password, respectively.

One thing you must remember is that resetting the router will change all of the router settings back to the factory settings.  This means you will lose all of the changes you made since you got the router.  Make sure to write down any things you’ve changed, so you can change them back after the reset.  Also, I recommend updating to the latest firmware after the reset.

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Recover Your Lost Wireless Network Key with WirelessKeyView

May 26th, 2012 by Admin

WirelessKeyView is a portable free network utility by NirSoft that recovers your wireless network security key/passwords stored in your computer. The latest version adds a feature that allows you to export these keys into a simple text file and then later on import them into another computer.

Because it’s a portable tool you can just download it from the link below and launch it without first installing it. It supports on both 32bit and 64bit of Windows, so make sure you know which edition of windows you are using and pick one that matches.

Select the keys you want to export, and Export Select Items from File menu. It’s worth noting that the keys exported in the text file are not encrypted. So make sure to keep the file in the safe place if you are concern about the security of your network.

If you find the keys that are obsolete from the network adapter that are no longer existed, you can even delete the keys from the tool directly. The key deleted from the tool will also be removed from your computer. Note that only the keys from the inactive network adapter can be deleted.

WirelessKeyView works perfectly in XP and Vista but has a bit of difficulty working flawlessly in Windows 7 due to the new encryption and hashing algorithms used by the Windows Data Protection system. The author has to make a workaround but claims that he will still keep the research and development going. However, I test its 64bit version of this tool on my Windows 7 64-bit system and it has no problem revealing all my wireless network keys I ever inputted.

As always, WirelessKeyView has a list of command-line options and can be executed in Command Prompt window or be a scheduled command.

Download WirelessKeyView

Download WirelessKeyView for x64

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How to Change Active Directory Password on Windows Server 2008/2003/2000

May 26th, 2012 by Admin

One of the prominent services of Windows Server is Active directory. Active directory manages user accounts and the permissions  granted to them from a single point. System administrator, the user of server system with administrator privileges, has the right to grant or revoke domain user’s privileges, create user account, set or reset password, etc.

With all the important functions handled from the server, what will happen if you forget Active Directory password, or it happens that an ignorant system administrator leaves the job without telling the password to anyone else? Question arises, “How to reset Active Directory Password?” There are many manual methods and third party tools available to help you out from the critical situation.

Windows Server account can be categorized as local account and domain controller account. This means that you cannot use the Active Directory service when you login through local account. With Password Recovery Bundle we can easily reset local account password and change active directory password.  In this tutorial we’ll only show you how to change Active Directory password on Windows Server 2008/2003/2000.

Step 1: Create a Active Directory Password Reset CD

  1. First download and install Password Recovery Bundle on another computer you have access to.
  2. Launch the program and click Windows Password button.
  3. Insert a blank CD/DVD into the CD drive and then click Start Burn to create a Active Directory Password Reset CD.

Step 2: Change Active Directory Password

  1. To have your domain controller to boot from the Active Directory Password Reset CD, you may need to change the BIOS settings to set CD/DVD as the 1t boot device.
  2. Insert the Active Directory Password Reset CD  into the CD drive of your domain controller and start the computer.
  3. Now that the computer is booting from the CD, an initial set up screen that says the computer is loading files will be displayed.
  4. When the screen of Reset Windows Password appears,  select a Active Directory user and then click Reset Password button.
  5. The program will change the Active Directory password to Password123 by default.

Reboot the domain controller and eject the Active Directory Password Reset CD, you’ll be able to log on the domain controller using your Active Directory user account.

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How To Make a USB Installation Disk for Windows 7

May 24th, 2012 by Admin

Imagine a situation where you have a computer or a laptop without an optical disc drive and want to install the new Windows 7 that is in DVD? What would you do?

Thinking about it, or perhaps to be more clear thinking about the users of netbooks, Microsoft released a tool that allows you to use a USB flash drive to install Windows 7. It would be good also for use in MacBook Air, but Apple itself still does not recommend installing the new Windows via Bootcamp.

This free tool called Windows 7 USB / DVD Download Tool prepares your USB flash drive and makes copying the installation files for Windows 7 so you can perform the process without the media installation.

Please download the Windows 7 USB / DVD Download Tool by clicking here, and follow the steps below to create your removable disk with the Windows installation.

Warning: Before starting the process, create an ISO image of the Windows 7 DVD as it will be used below. Also be sure to use a USB flash drive with at least 4GB of capacity.

1. Open the Microsoft tool and select the ISO image of Windows 7 that you created and click Next:

2. Then select USB device as the media type as we will use a USB flash drive:

3. Connect your USB flash drive if you have not already done so, and select the drive assigned to it. To continue, click Begin copying:

4. Now your USB flash drive is formatted to create bootable disk and then copying the files will begin:

5. Now just wait until you see a message indicating that the disk was created.

Now, your USB flash drive is ready. Just plugin in to your laptop or desktop computer, then simply reboot through USB flash drive to install Windows 7.

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How to Unlock and Recover Password of Outlook PST File

May 23rd, 2012 by Admin

One of my friends asked me if it is possible to crack a password protected Outlook (. PST) Data File. The file contains some important project data but unfortunately he forgot the password. Is there a way to recover the password or unlock the Outlook PST file?

In my previous post I have covered the way to recover forgotten Outlook passwords from MS Outlook. For data security, MS Outlook provides a convenient way to set a password on Outlook PST file. If you forgot Outlook PST password, you’ll lose access to your entire emails, calendar, Outlook contacts and other data used by MS Outlook.

Just take it easy! There is always an easy way for you to recover forgotten Outlook PST file password. This article is intended for everyone who lost or forgot passwords of their Outlook PST files or just want to learn the basics of Outlook PST file.

What’s Outlook PST File

The PST (Personal Storage Table) file is usually used to store emails (and attachments), calendar events, contacts, journal and other items within Microsoft software such as Microsoft Outlook or Exchange. The PST file is also known as Personal Folder file.

If you’ve set a password to protect the content of the PST file, you’ll required to enter your password every time you start MS Outlook. Once you’ve forgotten the password, you can’t send and receive email at all.

How to Recover Password of Outlook PST File

Forgot Outlook PST password? Fortunately, the PST file is protected using a very weak encryption algorithm CRC32 that we can crack your password quickly and easily. Everyone can follow the instructions below to recover forgotten password to any protected Outlook PST file.

  1. Install Password Recovery Bundle on your computer.
  2. Start the program and then click Recover From File button, then select PST File Password option. You’ll be prompted to select your Outlook PST file.
  3. After choosing your Outlook PST file, click OK.
  4. The program will analyze the Outlook PST file and recover your forgotten password instantly.

Write down the recovered password and then start MS Outlook and enter the password, you’ll be able to log in successfully.

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How to Recover Lost or Forgotten Outlook Password from MS Outlook

May 23rd, 2012 by Admin

Hello everybody, I am facing some tough situation where my brother forgot password of MS Outlook account which he maintains for my clients. Now my all important information stored there is inaccessible. Can anyone possibly give me potential solution for this particular problem? Thanks in advance..

Forgot Outlook password? I can understand your trouble, and you are not alone facing such problem. There are many instances where someone forgot their Outlook password due to intricacy of password, or moving all Outlook settings to a new system where password isn’t auto-saved. But don’t worry! If you go through similar problem, you can subsequently recover the lost or forgotten Outlook password using Password Recovery Bundle.

Password Recovery Bundle is the most powerful password recovery software you’ll ever used. It can recover over 60 types of passwords from instant messengers, email applications, web browsers, FTP clients, Windows login password, Office documents,  etc. Of course it can also recovers Outlook password from MS Outlook, Outlook Express.  Move on and see how can you recover forgotten Outlook password by yourself.

How to Recover Outlook Password:

  1. Install Password Recovery Bundle on your computer.
  2. Launch the program and then click Start Recovery button.
  3. It will display a list of supported passwords the program can recover.  Now we need to select the Email Password and then Outlook Password.
  4. The program will search the locations where MS Outlook stored your passwords, decrypt the passwords and display the details of email accounts saved in MS Outlook: email accounts, logins and passwords.

The recovery procedure is very easy and everyone can follow it to recover lost or forgotten Outlook password from MS Outlook.

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How to Reset Forgotten Windows Password for Your Laptop

May 22nd, 2012 by Admin

I change the password on my laptop and didn’t log out for 2 days. When I finally did I forgot the password. Now I can’t get in anything on my computer. How do I reset a forgotten password on my laptop without erasing anything?? Help me please!!

If you forgot Windows password for your laptop (or buy a used laptop with an unknown password) you can’t log into Windows. The first thing to do is try all the passwords you think it might be.

After a few incorrect guesses you will be prompted with a password hint (if one was set up) which may help you remember what it was. If you still don’t know and have tried all the passwords you can think of, it’s time to reset your laptop password.

Password Recovery Bundle is reliable and easy-to-use Windows password recovery software that we’ll use it to reset forgotten laptop password. We need to download the software on another computer you can log in. The software enables us to burn a Windows password reset disk (CD, DVD or USB stick). Have your locked laptop to boot from the password reset disk and it allows you to reset forgotten Windows password safely and easily!

Let’s see the detailed instructions on how to reset forgotten Windows password for a laptop:

  1. Install Password Recovery Bundle onto another computer you have access to.
  2. Launch the program and then click Windows Password button.
  3. On the prompt dialog, follow the on-screen steps to create a Windows password reset disk.
  4. Boot your locked laptop from the Windows password reset disk.
  5. After a while you’ll see the Reset Windows Password screen.
  6. Select the user account with a forgotten password, then click Reset Password to continue.
  7. The program will immediately reset your forgotten Windows password on your laptop.

Now reject the password reset disk and reboot your laptop. The computer will boot as usual and get to the Windows logon screen. Just leave the password field as blank, and you’ll able to successfully log in the system. It’s so easy to reset laptop password if you forgot Windows password and can’t get in.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

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How to Hack Windows Password with Free Linux Live CD

May 20th, 2012 by Admin

Forgetting Windows password means losing access to important files and settings on your computer. A password hint can provide clues to help you recall your password. But in most situations, we can’t recognize the importance of password hint and leave it as blank when set a new password. How to hack or recover Windows password so you can regain access to your computer?

In this tutorial we’ll show you how to hack Windows password with a Linux live CD – Ophcrack, which is a freeware that can crack Windows password so you can login without making any changes to your computer.

Step 1: Download Ophcrack and Create A Linux Live CD

The first thing we will need to do is download the CD image from Ophcrack’s website. There are two options to download: XP or Vista. So make sure you grab the right one. The Vista download works with Windows Vista or Windows 7, and the only difference between XP and Vista is the “tables” Ophcrack uses to hack the password.

Once the .iso file is downloaded, burn it to a CD using any CD/DVD burning software you like, such as BurnCDCC or ImgBurn. If you are going to be cracking your password on a computer that doesn’t have a CD drive, such as a netbook, you can also burn the ISO image to a USB flash drive using Universal USB Creator.

Step 2: Hack Windows Password

Boot the computer from the Linux Live CD that you created.  On some computers you may have to go into the BIOS settings to change the boot order or push a key to show the boot menu.

Once the disk is done booting, Ophcrack should start automatically and will begin hacking the passwords for all of the users on your computer.

If you have a complex password it will take a lot longer than simple passwords, and with the free tables your password may never be cracked. Once the hack is done you will see the password in plain text, write it down and reboot the machine to login. If your password isn’t hacked, you can also log in as one of the other users with admin rights and then change your password from within Windows.

With the free tables available you will not be able to hack every password, but the paid tables range from $100 to $1000 so you may be better off just resetting your password with Reset Windows Password utility.

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Posted in Free Software, Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

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