- Uncover hidden passwords in Windows applications, including Internet Explorer
- Last updated on 08/14/19
- There have been 2 updates within the past 6 months
- The current version has 0 flags on VirusTotal
Password Cracker by G&G Software is a tiny, free, totally portable utility that can recover lost passwords from applications. Passwords are perhaps the weakest links in the cyber-security chain; if they're complex enough to be secure, you probably won't be able to remember them. Add the fact that every other site seems to require a password, and it's easy to see why far too many people end up using one or two simple passwords that are easy to remember, and easy to crack, too. You can write your passwords down on a piece of paper that you can look for and fail to find when you need it, or you can download and install this program.
Jul 10, 2017 Download Ophcrack. If you are going to be cracking your password on something that doesn’t have a CD drive, such as a netbook, download the universal USB creator from PenDrive Linux ( Link Below ). A USB drive will not only run faster but you can also use a single USB drive for Windows XP, Vista, and 7 if you copy the needed tables to the drive. Install Ophcrack to USB – Windows Password Cracker. Create a Ophcrack USB Flash Drive: Ophcrack is a free Windows Password Cracker or Windows Login Password Recovery tool that uses rainbow tables to retrieve Windows login passwords from password hashes. The tool is available in two versions (Vista Ophcrack and XP Ophcrack). Ophcrack is a free Windows password cracker based on rainbow tables. It is a very efficient implementation of rainbow tables done by the inventors of the method. It comes with a Graphical User Interface and runs on multiple platforms. Reset Windows XP Password via Another Account. Resetting your Windows XP password via an alternative account only works if you are using Windows XP Professional. Start by right-clicking My Computer and selecting Manage. Then, select System Tools Local Users and Groups Users. Find your user account, right-click, and select Set Password.
Password Cracker downloads as a compressed file but runs as soon as you click the unzipped program file. The tool's interface is a tiny dialog, about the size of the average error message, with two text fields, labeled Test and View, and four buttons: Enable, Options, About, and Help. Other than some links to the program's Web site and some of the developer's other wares, that's it. However, the button's labels describe their functions clearly enough, so we started by checking the options, which are minimal, with check boxes to recover passwords in Internet Express or all of Windows. We checked the latter, opened a browser window, and navigated to a site that required a password log-in. We clicked Enable, hovered the mouse cursor over the password field (as delineated by asterisks), and Password Cracker displayed the alphanumeric password in the View field. We repeated the process with a Windows program that requires a log-on to open, with the similar success. The always-on-top option is handy since it keeps the little dialog from getting lost in a stack of open windows.
We installed Password Cracker 3.88, the latest version, in machines running Windows XP and Windows 7. The program performed its function in XP but not in Windows 7. Since the Windows 7 update is a recent release, it may be buggy, and we can't recommend Password Cracker to Windows 7 users until it performs reliably. Other Windows users can certainly benefit from it, especially the forgetful ones.
What do you need to know about free software?
Password Cracker by G&G Software is a tiny, free, totally portable utility that can recover lost passwords from applications. Passwords are perhaps the weakest links in the cyber-security chain; if they're complex enough to be secure, you probably won't be able to remember them. Add the fact that every other site seems to require a password, and it's easy to see why far too many people end up using one or two simple passwords that are easy to remember, and easy to crack, too. You can write your passwords down on a piece of paper that you can look for and fail to find when you need it, or you can download and install this program.
Password Cracker downloads as a compressed file but runs as soon as you click the unzipped program file. The tool's interface is a tiny dialog, about the size of the average error message, with two text fields, labeled Test and View, and four buttons: Enable, Options, About, and Help. Other than some links to the program's Web site and some of the developer's other wares, that's it. However, the button's labels describe their functions clearly enough, so we started by checking the options, which are minimal, with check boxes to recover passwords in Internet Express or all of Windows. We checked the latter, opened a browser window, and navigated to a site that required a password log-in. We clicked Enable, hovered the mouse cursor over the password field (as delineated by asterisks), and Password Cracker displayed the alphanumeric password in the View field. We repeated the process with a Windows program that requires a log-on to open, with the similar success. The always-on-top option is handy since it keeps the little dialog from getting lost in a stack of open windows.
We installed Password Cracker 3.88, the latest version, in machines running Windows XP and Windows 7. The program performed its function in XP but not in Windows 7. Since the Windows 7 update is a recent release, it may be buggy, and we can't recommend Password Cracker to Windows 7 users until it performs reliably. Other Windows users can certainly benefit from it, especially the forgetful ones.
What We Like
- Software is freely available for download online.
- Passwords are recovered automatically using the LiveCD method.
- No software installation is necessary to recover passwords.
- No knowledge of any existing passwords is necessary.
What We Don't Like
- Some antivirus programs mistakenly identify Ophcrack as a Trojan or virus.
- Several hundred megabyte download.
- LiveCD ISO image must be burned to a disc or USB device before being used.
- Passwords greater than 14 characters cannot be cracked.
- Won't crack even the simplest Windows 10 password.
Ophcrack v3.6.0, in its LiveCD form (currently at v3.6.0), is simply the best way to recover a Windows password. It's a nearly foolproof operation, automatic password recovery, and overall speed puts Ophcrack in a league of its own.
The Ophcrack LiveCD requires some preparation but this password recovery tool is by far the best.
After just a few minutes of running the software, Ophcrack will find all of your Windows passwords and display them on screen! Yes, it's that easy!
Download Ophcrack LiveCD
Major Ophcrack Features
- Ophcrack will crack passwords for Windows 8 (both local and Microsoft accounts), Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
- Ophcrack can recover 99.9% of passwords from Windows XP, usually in a matter of seconds. Any 14-character or smaller password that uses any combination of numbers, small letters, and capital letters should be crackable.
- Ophcrack can recover 99% of passwords from Windows 8, Windows 7 or Windows Vista. A slower 'dictionary attack' is used in these versions of Windows.
- The Ophcrack LiveCD option allows for completely automatic password recovery.
- LiveCD method requires no installation in Windows, making it a safe alternative to many other password recovery tools.
- No Windows passwords need to be known to use the Ophcrack LiveCD to crack your Windows passwords.
How to Use Ophcrack LiveCD
To get started, visit the Ophcrack download page. Once you're there, choose Download ophcrack LiveCD and select either the XP or Vista/7 link (use the Vista/7 one for Windows 8 and don't worry about the third 'without tables' option) to download the correct ISO image file for your operating system. This file may take some time to download.
Windows Xp Password Cracker Software Free Download
An ISO file contains everything that should go on a disc or flash drive, all in a single file. The Ophcrack LiveCD ISO file contains SliTaz (a Linux distribution), the Ophcrack software, and other files needed to recover passwords. Don't worry about the details: the Ophcrack LiveCD is fully automatic so you need no Linux experience whatsoever.
How to Recover Passwords Using Ophcrack LiveCD
After downloading the Ophcrack ISO, you do have one decision to make—whether to burn Ophcrack to a disc (like a CD, DVD, or BD) or to put Ophcrack on a USB drive, like a flash drive:
Ophcrack on a Disc
If the computer you're on, and the computer you forgot the password to, both have an optical drive, burning Ophcrack to a disc is probably the easiest way to go.
If you've burned ISO images before, go for it. If not, please know that burning an ISO file is very different than burning normal files. Check out How to Burn an ISO Image File to a CD, DVD, or BD for a complete tutorial.
After creating the Ophcrack disc, boot from the disc by restarting your computer with your newly created CD, DVD, or BD in the drive. Linux will load, Ophcrack will start, and the password recovery will begin.
If you have trouble getting your computer to boot from the Ophcrack disc, see our How to Boot From a CD, DVD, or BD Disc tutorial for help.
Ophcrack on a USB Drive
If one or both the computers you're working with don't have a CD/DVD drive, then getting Ophcrack working from a USB drive, like a flash drive, is your only option.
Unfortunately, you can't just copy or expand the Ophcrack ISO to the USB drive and expect it to be bootable and work properly.
Once the Ophcrack USB drive is created, boot from the drive to get the Ophcrack process started.
Once you have Ophcrack going, either via the disc you burned or the flash drive you created, it will locate the users on your Windows system and begin cracking their passwords. The process is automatic—you don't usually need to type or click anything. When the passwords are displayed on the screen, write them down.
Remove the disc or flash drive, reset your computer, and then log on to Windows with your newly recovered password!
Once you're back into Windows, change your password to something you'll remember this time and then create a password reset disk to avoid ever having to do this again.
Important Information About Ophcrack and Antivirus Programs
Some antivirus programs unnecessarily identify one or both of two files included in Ophcrack as a Trojan or other kind of malware--samdump.dll and pwservice.exe. Both of these files are part of an open-source program called pwdump which is included with Ophcrack and is necessary for it to work.
The pwdump program is classified more or less as 'evil' since it can be used to extract passwords...which of course is exactly what you're trying to do.
So, don't worry if your antivirus program flags one of these files (as long as it's just these files). Ignore it and continue on with the process.
Having Problems Using Ophcrack?
Did you have problems running Ophcrack or did Ophcrack not find your Windows password? Try another free Windows password recovery tool or maybe even a commercial Windows password recovery tool.
Download Ophcrack LiveCD