A List of the Best Free Password Recovery Tools for Windows
Top 5 Free Windows Password Recovery Tools
A List of the Best Free Password Recovery Tools for Windows
Password recovery tools are used to recover lost user and administrator passwords used to log on to Windows operating systems.
Password recovery tools are often called "password cracking" tools because they are sometimes used to "crack" passwords by hackers. Legally cracking your own password is certainly a legitimate and often necessary practice!
Many password recovery tools cost hundreds of dollars. Here are some free password recovery tools that will help recover forgotten Windows passwords fast!
1. Ophcrack
The Ophcrack Windows password cracker is by far the best free Windows password recovery tool available. It's fast and easy enough for a first time password cracker with a basic knowledge of Windows.
With Ophcrack, you don't need any access to Windows to be able to recover your lost passwords. Simply visit the site, download the free ISO image, burn it to a CD and boot from the CD. The Ophrack program starts, locates the Windows user accounts, and proceeds to recover (crack) the passwords - all automatically.
In a test on a Windows 7 PC, Ophcrack recovered the 10-character password to my administrator account in 40 seconds. Ophcrack supports Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
2. Offine NT Password & Registry Editor
Offine NT Password & Registry Editor works basically the same as PC Login Now in that it erases your Windows password instead of recovering it. You can then simply log in to your account without entering a password.
Like Ophcrack, you boot to a burned CD created with the Offine NT Password & Registry Editor ISO file.
If you like this "password deleting" strategy then I highly recommend this program. Offine NT Password & Registry Editor works basically the same way as PC Login Now, but this program is free.
I tried Offine NT Password & Registry Editor on a Windows XP PC and it worked immediately without problem. It should work equally well with Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows 2000, and Windows NT.
3. Cain & Abel
Cain & Abel is a free, fast and effective Windows password recovery tool.
Unlike Ophcrack and other popular password hacking programs, Cain & Abel requires access to Windows under an administrator account. Due to this fact, Cain & Abel is a valuable resource to recover passwords to accounts other than the one you're using.
Add that to the fact that Cain & Abel is a bit more complicated to use than other password recovery apps and you have what is, in my book, a pretty advanced tool. Check it out if you think it might be useful to you.
Cain & Abel was able to recover the 10-character password to a Windows XP administrator account in ten seconds. I could not get it to work properly with Windows 7 or Windows Vista.
4. LCP
LCP is yet another free password recovery software tool for Windows.
Like Cain & Abel, LCP is a standard Windows program you download from LCPSoft's website and install inside of Windows, meaning you'll need access to a user account no the computer.
LCP can be a little intimidating to those new to password recovery tools so some prior knowledge is very helpful to avoid even bigger problems with your PC.
I haven't been able to get LCP to work for me. If you've successfully used LCP and would like to share your experiences, please let me know.
5. John The Ripper
John the Ripper is a very popular free password recovery tool that can be used to find Windows account passwords.
While the password recovery application itself is free, the wordlists used by John the Ripper to discover passwords do cost and are required for the software to work. There may be free wordlist alternatives that work with John the Ripper but I have not tested them.
John the Ripper is operated at the command line making it a password cracking tool reserved for the very advanced user.
If you have experience with John the Ripper that you would like to share, please let me know.
Password Recovery Tools Aren't Necessary if You're Proactive!
These password recovery tools are great if you need them, but there's a much easier way to access your account if you forget your password - create a password reset disk!
A password reset disk is a special disk you can insert in your PC during the logon process that will allow you to reset your password. You will need to create this disk before you lose access to your account!
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