WARNING! Windows Passwords EZ to delete

I just learned something new today.  A customer called to say that she forgot her Windows login password, and wanted to know if I could help her access her computer.   Oddly, I’ve never had this particular request before.

I did some research and found (fairly easily) a free Linux-based program that I could put on a CD.  The program boots the computer then runs through a routine by which you are able to access any Windows account on the computer, and blank out the password for that account.

I tried it on my own computer, and it worked quite well.  This was a good solution for my customer.

But it occurred to me that a tool like this can be used by the Dark Forces as well.  Anyone with a little computer knowledge can follow the instructions that come with the program I found (and there are surely others like it) and hack past a windows password like a breeze through a wind chime.

I don’t plan on posting the link to the software or the instructions for using it here, because I don’t want to provide anyone with the tools to steal data from others. 

But I thought that it was worth mentioning that this is possible, and for someone who knows enough about computers to burn a CD, it’s pretty easy.

So the moral of the story is, if you have sensitive data on your computer, don’t trust your Windows login password to keep it safe.  The best way to keep your data completely safe from prying eyes is to use encryption software to password protect a folder or files.

Just do a Google search on “freeware file encryption tools” and you’ll surely find plenty of security. 

Just don’t encrypt your files and then forget your password, because then you are really hosed!