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XP login hack in 5 seconds

post #1 of 28
1/18/07 at 6:03am
Thread Starter 
Hey guys,

since I know that most of you carry your laptops around, you should be aware that even though you've password protected your machine, others could still log onto windows.

I found this hack on the internet.

On the login screen for windows XP, push ctrl+alt+delete twice.

A new login box should pop up.

in the username field, enter "Administrator"

leave the password field blank and hit enter.

It takes slightly longer to load to windows when you use this method (for some reason . . . ), but it works. Pretty scary. By default, Windows creates an admin account with no password when you install XP. To prevent someone from doing this, you have to delete that admin account in the "Users" section of the control panel.
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post #2 of 28
1/18/07 at 11:54am
??i dont udnerstand

XP allows you to set a password for admin account when u install XP.

Also, when during the installation, it will ask names of ppl that will be using the comp.

I put my name and it becomes the 2nd admin account.
So during an installation, 2 admin accounts are created (and few guest if you want to)
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post #3 of 28
1/18/07 at 2:30pm
The only way this works if you are somehow dumb enough to leave the admin password blank. Airforceelite is dead on here, you supply the password during setup, if you leave it blank, then shame on you.
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post #4 of 28
1/18/07 at 3:08pm
Lol
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post #5 of 28
1/18/07 at 3:24pm
lol
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post #6 of 28
1/18/07 at 3:31pm
Thread Starter 
haha. good point. I guess I never thought of that

Most people leave the admin password blank though and since this admin account doesn't show up on the login screen if a second admin account has been created, its still sort of a hack.
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post #7 of 28
1/18/07 at 7:45pm
Most people I know put an admin password. This wouldn't even work on the stupid people. I have a bootable file I load up that does xp login. Very handy and it doesn't take over a minute
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post #8 of 28
1/19/07 at 2:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Goran
Most people I know put an admin password. This wouldn't even work on the stupid people. I have a bootable file I load up that does xp login. Very handy and it doesn't take over a minute
Sometimes it is better to leave the Admin password blank. When you make a leaving fixing lots of computers it is really a pain in the neck if you don't know the Admin password.

So I am good to other technicians and I leave the Admin password blank, hoping that they will do the same, so when I need to fix a computer, it won't have the Admin password set.
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post #9 of 28
1/19/07 at 4:38am
The average user should never set an admin password, because most people will forget it since they will never use it themselves. You should only set an admin password if you plan on remembering it.

I can't tell you how many computers I could have repaired, if the customer had just been smart enough to remember their own damn admin password.
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post #10 of 28
1/19/07 at 12:02pm
You can also go on that interweb thingy, type 'Google', search for 'Password Recovery' and get 68 pages of results (not including the 'omitted results'). I did and can tell you at least one of those 'results' works...Replaced an existing password in about 2 minutes...
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post #11 of 28
1/19/07 at 1:02pm
Don't leave admin blank. Any good technician should know how to find a bootable change-the-password linux disk. I've even seen ones that show the existing password.

The problem is that most users that buy laptops get them preloaded, so wether the distributor sets a password or leaves it blank doesn't matter. Someone will do interweb search and find their default password anyway.

I think you can also boot in safemode for XP home admin.

Since these users get XP Home with automatic login anyway, this would seem moot.

I sure hope Vista addressed the real world issues with access control security.
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post #12 of 28
1/19/07 at 1:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by olyteddy
You can also go on that interweb thingy, type 'Google', search for 'Password Recovery' and get 68 pages of results (not including the 'omitted results'). I did and can tell you at least one of those 'results' works...Replaced an existing password in about 2 minutes...


Yea, it takes all of about 5 min's to recover an XP admin password. I use ERD Commander from Systernals, which not only can recover passwords locally, it can do it over a network. If for some bizzaro reason that does not work, I use a linux disk you can get of the internet by doing a quick google:

http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html

You should, and I repeat, NEVER leave this password blank, it's the quickest avenue for a hacker to get in. Second any decent repair shop will have a small arsenal of password recovery utilities, there is NEVER a need to format over a lost password. Microsoft even has a utility for this if your a MSDN subscriber.
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post #13 of 28
1/19/07 at 2:13pm
Yeah thats not that new, but a lot of people never reset that Admin password. If you actually want to hack/reset the pass in less than 3 or 4 minutes, try the Emergency Boot CD (EBCD) which is a handy little tool. You can burn it to a mini cd and use it for all sorts of stuff.
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post #14 of 28
1/19/07 at 8:22pm
Thread Starter 
can someone post a link to a page that explains an easy way to retrieve a password. An elderly friend of my father has forgotten his password and needs his files back.

Since the admin password is blank, we can still boot to windows using the method that i described in my previous post.

If I can't retrieve his password using an easy method, I plan to get him to ship his laptop to me so that I can take the HDD out, plug it into my PC (using a converter), take all the files of the HDD, format and install windows onto the laptop drive.

thanks

jason
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post #15 of 28
1/19/07 at 11:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jasonhoward64
can someone post a link to a page that explains an easy way to retrieve a password. An elderly friend of my father has forgotten his password and needs his files back.

Since the admin password is blank, we can still boot to windows using the method that i described in my previous post.

If I can't retrieve his password using an easy method, I plan to get him to ship his laptop to me so that I can take the HDD out, plug it into my PC (using a converter), take all the files of the HDD, format and install windows onto the laptop drive.

thanks

jason


I think this one is about the easiest, it's a tiny Linux kernel that asks you very direct questions during the reset process:

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/
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post #16 of 28
1/20/07 at 10:03am
Thread Starter 
thanks dude. I think that i'll just recommend that he take it to a shop. I'd have to talk him through it over the phone and this stuff is beyond him.
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post #17 of 28
1/20/07 at 10:05am
Thread Starter 
Does anyone know what typically shop rates are?
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post #18 of 28
1/20/07 at 5:54pm
Okay, what if there's a passord right when the machine boots up? It shows up after the BIOS check but before Windows loads. To change the BIOS settings, you'd have to know the password as well. What do you do then, since it's impossible to boot from CD/floppy/network?
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post #19 of 28
1/20/07 at 7:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyako
Okay, what if there's a passord right when the machine boots up? It shows up after the BIOS check but before Windows loads. To change the BIOS settings, you'd have to know the password as well. What do you do then, since it's impossible to boot from CD/floppy/network?
you could reset / erase the BIOS, load another one on, and then set another password
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post #20 of 28
1/20/07 at 7:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djembe
you could reset / erase the BIOS, load another one on, and then set another password


You can, with one exception, it could also be a hard drive password, and if that's the case, throw away the hard drive.
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