Passwords are designed to keep our information safe, right? But when they get lost or forgotten, information becomes a little too safe. Fortunately, there are tools that we can use to reset Windows passwords.
WARNING: Like karate and lasers, password crackers are very powerful things that should NEVER BE USED FOR EVIL. These should only be used on computers we set up for this purpose, or on a computer you own. A smart computer owner will be able to protect against the use of these tools, but you are still responsible for your own behavior.
For this Mission you will need a USB drive. Be careful: your USB drive will be completely erased when you follow these instructions. Step 1: UnetbootinUnetbootin is a program that downloads and installs all kinds of useful nerdy things onto USB drives. Some examples include Linux, disk utilities, and rescue disks. It can also install NTPasswd, a utility for resetting passwords on Windows.
Step 2: Preparing the USB- Open Disk Utility
- Select your USB drive
- Select Erase
- Choose MS-DOS (FAT) and click erase
- This is not a judgement - it is a File System. It is basically the way files are encoded and organized on a disk. Windows does things differently than Mac, so you need to format this disk with a Windows file system.
Step 3: Install NTPasswd- Open Unetbootin. You will be asked for an Administrator's name and Password. Ask Mr. Dreyfus for this.
- For Distribution, Select NTPasswd
- You should see your USB with a name like "/dev/disk2s1." If you don't it isn't formatted correctly and you need to go back to Step 2.
- Hit okay and let the program do its thing.
Step 4: Get Crackin'!
|