All Questions
104 questions
66
votes
1
answer
8k
views
What's the risk if I accidently type my password into a username field (Windows logon)?
I'm used to logging into my personal Mac which is a password-only field (like waking from sleep mode). Sometimes I have to use a Windows network on which I have an account, but of course I have to ...
- 3,282
64
votes
3
answers
17k
views
Why does Windows store Wi-Fi passwords in a reversible format?
Running
netsh wlan export profile key=clear
in PowerShell will dump your current stored Wi-Fi settings, including the password, into xml files inside of whatever directory you are currently in.
Why ...
- 741
23
votes
3
answers
9k
views
How to bypass password on Windows XP account? [closed]
I have an old ThinkPad R40 family laptop running Windows XP lying around and there's an account on it that has a password and it gave me a hint and I put everything I could possibly think in there and ...
- 247
22
votes
4
answers
10k
views
How secure is Windows 8's Picture Password login?
The final Windows 8 build has been released to manufacturing. One of the new features of Windows 8 is "Picture Password", where the end user logs on to Windows by clicking a specific pattern on the ...
user2122
21
votes
4
answers
110k
views
Does Windows have a built-in password store?
What passwords are stored in Microsoft Windows? How can I know what password are saved in computer?
- 211
17
votes
3
answers
49k
views
Windows 7 Password Hash Security
I recently came across a number of sources that suggest that cracking Windows user account passwords is easy by examining their password hashes.
I understand that these hashes are stored in the SAM ...
- 273
15
votes
4
answers
88k
views
Bypassing Windows 10 password with Utilman.exe trick - fixed?
Recently I run into a locked down laptop with Windows 10 OS (actually I guess it was updated from Windows 7 if that matters). My collegue was using this computer some time ago and lost his login and ...
- 383
14
votes
3
answers
5k
views
How can I prevent someone from accessing a Windows XP system via boot disk?
Apparently a computer system protected by a a login password, e.g. Windows XP, can be easily hacked by someone with physical access to it using methods like this one:
http://www.raymond.cc/blog/...
- 958
12
votes
3
answers
4k
views
How can I mitigate the threat that DPAPick poses to my DPAPI protected data?
The Windows Data Protection API (DPAPI) is the suggested method for storing secrets on Windows systems (such as database passwords required by ASP.Net applications).
DPAPick was presented at BlackHat ...
- 985
12
votes
2
answers
83k
views
Location of Password Hashes on a Windows Local Machine?
"Where are the two locations that user's password hashes are stored on a local windows machine?"
My place of business asked me this question. I know that the SAM stores password hashes, where would ...
- 392
11
votes
1
answer
37k
views
How to read password from Windows credentials?
What is the cipher used by windows Credential Manager to generate credentials backup files (*.crd)?
With a backup file from Credential Manager and the password used to created that backup file is it ...
- 221
11
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How insecure is PowerShell Web Access?
Windows Server 2012 comes with a new feature that allows you to administrate the server via a PowerShell command line in any modern browser including Smartphones.
This sounds cool and scary at the ...
- 445
11
votes
3
answers
12k
views
Security of passwords remembered by Windows
Does Windows XP or Windows 7 encrypt saved passwords?
I'm assuming that the user uses local password to logon.
The user then uses his own computer to connect to server in work and sets the "remember ...
- 3,798
9
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Does Windows 11 PIN Behavior Break Password Security Conventions?
Building on the theme presented in this previous question, does Window's current PIN input userflow break standard password security practices?
Behavior: When the user inputs the correct number of ...
- 193
9
votes
1
answer
30k
views
Decrypting SAM hive after Windows 10 anniversary update?
After a lot of frustration, I've finally cracked my local Windows 10 password using mimikatz to extract the proper NTLM hash.
In particular, samdump2 decrypted the SAM hive into a list of users with &...
- 1,297
9
votes
2
answers
115k
views
Is there any way of getting current user's password in Windows 10?
I'm trying to find a way of getting my current user password in plain text, is it possible?
I've seen here a way of doing it on Win7 but it's not working for Win10.
If it's not, could I, at least, ...
- 2,394
9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What harm is there in obtaining password hashes in a Windows environment?
ArsTechnica posted this article recently talking about how the power grid has been penetrated:
Hackers lie in wait after penetrating US and Europe power grid networks
Excerpt:
One tactic involved ...
- 977
9
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Replacing cached domain credentials in SECURITY hive
Windows stores the (NTLM) hashes of local users' passwords in the SAM hive. By booting from a live system (for example), one can not only extract those hashes for offline cracking, but also simply ...
- 1,069
9
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How to know the windows security dialog asking for username password is genuine?
I recently faced one issue. It appeared my outlook launched a dialog saying it needed password. It looked like this
I noticed the "->" character in the domain name which usually it auto fills. Also ...
- 193
8
votes
4
answers
14k
views
How secure is Windows Auto-Logon?
Obviously, if auto-logon is enabled, anyone who can gain physical access to the PC can use the PC. That's not the question.
The question is, when I enable auto-logon for my Windows 7 box, will there ...
- 1,227
8
votes
2
answers
3k
views
When taking ownership of a TPM in Windows 7, how is the SRK derived from the password?
When you take ownership of a TPM in Windows 7 you encounter a screen like this:
Based on this document, it is my understanding that completing this dialog box somehow results in the generation of the ...
- 589
8
votes
3
answers
574
views
Does setting a user password on Windows XP help protect against remote exploits compared to no password?
In a typical home user situation with a PC connected to the internet via a router, suppose we are not concerned with protecting the machine from people with physical access. Does setting a password on ...
- 183
8
votes
1
answer
586
views
Kerberos Attacks Questions
It's amazing how many "Attacks on Kerberos" articles exist out there and almost none really explains the small details.
My guess is that usually they assume it's basic knowledge and sometimes, they ...
7
votes
2
answers
3k
views
When running shell scripts, is it safer to pass sensitive information using stdin or as a string option?
I'm building a number of automated scripts that will run within an encrypted environment (full disk encryption).
Many commands in both Windows and *nix have two ways of entering sensitive information ...
- 233
7
votes
2
answers
24k
views
Recover the password of a Windows service user login account
When setting up a Windows service, one specifies a user account to use for authentication, as well as the password for that user. In their guidelines for user account selection, Microsoft states that ...
- 173
6
votes
2
answers
12k
views
How can Windows 10 not have the password in memory?
I have read that Windows 10 does not hold the password in memory from the creator of mimikatz:
Starting with 8.x and 10, by default, there is no password in memory.
Exceptions:
When DC is/are ...
- 127
6
votes
1
answer
12k
views
Where is my password stored on Windows 7?
Is there a specific location where the passwords are stored ?
Are they salted ?
- 927
6
votes
2
answers
16k
views
Utilman.exe command prompt hack prevention?
This trick to hack windows and reset passwords(or create new logins)has been around for ages and still works on windows 7 and windows 8. Is there any way to disable the key combination that brings up ...
- 11.5k
6
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Inject hash into sam file. Is possible?
I have a very uncommon scenario. I have a Windows 10 laptop with a specific configuration. On that configuration, there is a user (local user, not domain user) which I don't know its password. I want ...
- 5,365
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Are passwords for Windows accounts always stored in cleartext in memory, while the account is logged on?
Are passwords for Windows accounts always stored in cleartext in memory, while the account is logged on?
Using Mimikatz I've seen lots of examples where passwords are stored in memory, either for ...
- 1,297
5
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Tools helps: First time cracking passwords
I am trying to crack passwords on two Windows member servers (2003 and 2008). There is no Active Directory. Each user seems to use the same password across servers, workstations, etc. I have access to ...
- 159
5
votes
6
answers
26k
views
Hardware USB Key to Reset Any Windows Password
This tool requires physical access of course, and there are many things you can do once you have physical access, but this peaked my curiosity.
The tool in question: https://www.kickstarter.com/...
- 644
5
votes
2
answers
33k
views
NTLM/LM Hashes on Domain Controller
I've noticed that when extracting password hashes from a domain controller (using Elcomsoft proactive password auditor) sometimes I'll get LM and NTLM hashes and other times I'll only get NTLM hashes.
...
- 11.5k
5
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Password History/Password policy
I'm referring to "remembered" password that the domain keeps so a user cannot reuse that password until it has expired in what was set at Password Policy on DC (W2003/W2008).
Where is password ...
- 161
5
votes
3
answers
638
views
How can I detect users that have requested AD Administrators to reuse an expired password?
There is a trend among companies I've worked at where administrators (or helpdesk folks) give a user a courtesy extension of the old expired password... rather than forcing the user to change it.
...
- 51.1k
5
votes
1
answer
6k
views
What tools currently allow to retrieve Windows 10/11 password hashes, given admin rights or physical access to unencrypted disks?
I was wondering what Windows/Linux/Live tools allow to retrieve user password hashes of modern 2021 Win10/11 installations. I am not sure if password storage differs in these cases (e.g. different ...
- 173
5
votes
1
answer
8k
views
Recover Server 2008 R2 Domain Admin Password
So I did the ultimate silly thing: I lost my domain admin password for my Server 2008 R2 box.
Sure, I could just re-install but that's going to be a huge pain. I tried rebooting with the Windows ...
- 59
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How does Windows password protect my data?
As far as I know, Windows computers are not encrypted by default in case you are not signed into a Microsoft Account. Considering the aforementioned fact I cannot understand the purpose of the login ...
4
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why does Windows 7 require a password hint during setup?
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think Windows 7 is the only operating system out there that requires a hint for the first user created on the system (have not had a chance to check out Windows 8 Beta)....
- 185
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How do I protect my passwords from WebBrowserPassView?
I just got shocked with what can be achieved with WebBrowserPassView. It basically shows every password I've saved in my browser (Chrome).
I guess other users on my PC could get my passwords that ...
- 141
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
External HDD safety without Full disc encryption
I am not very informed when it comes to disk security but interested to learn more ( so please if it seems like i am misunderstanding some concepts point me to the right reading material )
I've got ...
- 177
4
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Hashed passwords for NTLM authentication
I understood that Windows users' password hashes can be exported very easily. Right? So my question is:
If I can have the hashes of other user accounts (e.g. local users on my Windows machine), isn't ...
- 41
4
votes
1
answer
712
views
Security of Windows Screen Saver Password
How secure is the Windows screensaver password? Seeing that screen saver passwords are used in the corporate world, is there any way of bypassing the screen saver after it is already running? Could a ...
- 142
4
votes
1
answer
598
views
Windows system password hashed - see which hash is used
How can I know / see if my windows is using NTML, LM, NTML2 for its user account passwords?
What is the standard today, in windows systems?
- 43
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Windows Scheduled Task passwords
When you create a Scheduled Task in Windows, it gives you the option of running the task as a different user, including saving the password.
How secure is the password that is stored?
- 167
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Does typing something in Notepad but not saving it leave any trace?
Sometimes, if I'm having trouble typing a long password, I'll open up Notepad, type it in there (so I can make sure what I'm typing is correct), and then copy+paste it into the form, and then close ...
- 207
3
votes
1
answer
5k
views
How does Windows Server 2008 store local users' passwords?
It is not clear to me how Windows Server 2008 R8 stores local account passwords. Is there any salt added or just NT hash is computed and stored?
The following article describes all the methods used ...
- 315
3
votes
1
answer
7k
views
Are Windows password hashes salted with the user name?
I'll readily admit I'm pretty clueless when it comes to cryptography, so there may already be some false assumptions in the question title itself :-)
Still, I "heard" that it is more secure to store ...
- 1,227
3
votes
1
answer
977
views
Are encrypted files safe in Windows 10 when using PINs?
In Secrets and Lies, Bruce Schneier writes:
Many keys are generated from passwords or passphrases. A system that
accepts 10-character ASCII passwords might require 80 bits to represent,
but has ...
- 4,824
3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
DPAPI offline attack by cracking windows password?
I'm thinking of using DPAPI to protect configuration file information in my program. After doing some reading on it, it looks like it uses the user's Windows password as part of the encryption process....
- 2,292