Windows Password Cracker

Pros

• Program can process millions of combinations in several different languages
• Supports passwords containing special characters
• Provides a way to set the minimum and maximum password length
• Discovery of the correct password avoids the necessity of reinstalling Windows

Cons

• Only processes passwords on systems that use SYSKEY
• Brute force tactics take a long time to work
• Doesn't work on systems with corrupt file systems

Windows Password Cracker retrieves lost passwords on Windows systems that use the SYSKEY Microsoft protection protocol. If you ever lose the password to your Windows system, this software can help you recover it.

The program works through a combination of 53,000 characters in several languages. Essentially, it keeps guessing until it gets your password right. Due to this brute force approach, it takes some time for the program to detect your system password.

As the program employs a multilingual character set, it can be used effectively in several countries. The program processes over a million combinations in an attempt to determine the correct password. Since it can take so long for the software to discover the correct password, the developers provide a way to pause the program and resume it later. For best results, start the program when you don't need access to your computer for several hours. Leaving the program on overnight may provide enough time to discover most passwords. Unlike more memory-intensive programs, this software uses minimal resources to avoid crashing the computer or overheating your system.

Windows Password Cracker provides many features that make it possible to customize the way it attempts to discover passwords. For example, if you know you didn't use any numbers in your password, you can open the Options menu and uncheck the box that checks digits. Other options also exist to ignore capital letters and special symbols. Another option involves setting the minimum and maximum password length. If you know that the password has at least three characters and fewer than nine, you could set those parameters in the program and make it easier for the program to discover the correct password. This type of narrowing will reduce the time needed to complete the process.

Run the program on your entire system and you can discover the passwords for every user account and program on your computer. A convenient log shows you the number of users on the system and how many passwords were found during the most recent scan. The screen also provides you with information about the progress of the search. This way, you can estimate how much time you have left for the program to complete running a check on all of the passwords on your system. For systems that don't use SYSKEY, users will need to identify alternatives to Windows Password Cracker.

Pros

• Program can process millions of combinations in several different languages
• Supports passwords containing special characters
• Provides a way to set the minimum and maximum password length
• Discovery of the correct password avoids the necessity of reinstalling Windows

Cons

• Only processes passwords on systems that use SYSKEY
• Brute force tactics take a long time to work
• Doesn't work on systems with corrupt file systems