Ophcrack LiveCD: Ophcrack Windows password cracker is the best free tool for recovering Windows passwords. Ophcrack is quite fast and easy to use even for a beginner.
Download Ophcrack LiveCD v3.6.0
Ophcrack v3.6.0, comes in LiveCD format and is simply the best way to recover your Windows password. The LiveCD requires some preparation, which we will describe below. Ophcrack can crack Windows 8 passwords (both local and Microsoft accounts), Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP. The success rate of the application reaches 99.9%, while on operating systems like Windows XP, finding the password is a matter of seconds. Any password with 14 characters or less that uses any combination of numbers, lowercase and uppercase letters is crackable.
The Ophcrack LiveCD method does not require any installation.
How do I use Ophcrack LiveCD?
To get started, visit the Ophcrack download page and click the Download Ophcrack LiveCD button.
On the next page, select the operating system you are using (XP, Vista, 7 and Windows 8). Don't get stuck with the ophcrack LiveCD (without tables) option, just download the correct ISO for your operating system.
An ISO file contains everything you need to burn to a DVD or USB stick. The Ophcrack LiveCD ISO contains SliTaz (a Linux distribution), the Ophcrack software, and other files needed to recover the passwords you want. The Ophcrack LiveCD is completely automated, so it will be quite easy for you even if you have no experience with Linux at all.
After downloading the Ophcrack ISO, you will need to choose whether to burn Ophcrack to a disc (DVD), or to a USB.
Create a bootable DVD or USB and you are ready to go. If you use Universal-USB-Installer to burn the LiveCD to USB, don’t forget to select “Ophcrack” from the list of utilities and tools included in the application.
Once you have the tool ready in your hands, start the computer you forgot the password on with the USB or DVD containing the LiveCD.
Ophcrack will detect the users on your Windows system and begin cracking their passwords. The process is automatic – you usually don’t have to select or type anything. When it’s finished, the passwords found on your system will be listed on your screen.
Remove the drive or USB, and restart your computer. You can now log in to Windows with your password
Once you manage to recover your Windows account, change your password to one you will remember and then create a password reset disk.
Note:
Some antivirus programs give false alarms for one or both of the two files included with Ophcrack, identifying them as Trojans or other types of malware. samdump.dll and pwservice.exe. Both of these files are part of an open source program called pwdump that is included with Ophcrack and is required for it to function.
The pwdump program is classified as more of a “bad” program since it can be used to recover passwords.
