Probably been asked before. Password bypass on windows

[SinfulWeeper]

So I have a laptop. Nicely secure. One day the keyboard dies. I needed info on drive in less than an hour. I bring it to a computer shop and told them I need it unlocked in less than an hour. I return in 35 minutes to see how things are going. To my horror he was watching my Netflix ( not that I care about that). I asked how he did that... With this USB password reset stick. It can also be bypassed through improper shut down.

I have all my critical software and files stored at home. But my laptop... All someone needs is a bypass? I want to move all important data to a different partition. Said such two bypasses be used. I want that partition formatted. How do I do it? I could care less of data lost. Those are backed up at home.

 

[mikeymikec]

Are you asking how to format a partition? If it's a partition that only has personal data on, in the 'computer' / 'this pc' view, you can right-click on the volume and select 'format'.

I'm curious though, why do you want to format it? It seems like you want to format it because someone else accessed it. That doesn't make much sense to me.

 

[Fardringle]

There are many different password recovery utilities available. If you want actual security on the laptop, encrypt the drive. Simple passwords on local accounts are only the first (and one of the weakest) steps in a good security solution.

Edit: Also, you didn't really need to have the shop crack your password unless you actually forgot the password. They just needed to replace the keyboard (or you could plug in a generic USB keyboard to access the system until the malfunctioning keyboard is replaced).

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Ultimate Boot CD includes a password reset utility.

 

[SinfulWeeper]

No it just irks me that all someone has to do is plug in a stick or do a improper shutdown to get full access to my personal data. Should those be done. I want the data partition wiped. All I would have to do is use the Jon say for instance when my ex is around visiting the munchkins and get anything she wants from it.

 

[SinfulWeeper]

And no. I am not looking for password reset. I am talking data theft protection by a simple format should my password be bypassed

 

[mikeymikec]

Alternatively, why not use a program like VeraCrypt (I still use TrueCrypt, but VC is meant to be essentially a newer version of it) to encrypt that partition then copy whatever data you want to it?

Then when you want to access it, you'll have to decrypt it with the correct password first.

 

[Fardringle]

No it just irks me that all someone has to do is plug in a stick or do a improper shutdown to get full access to my personal data. Should those be done. I want the data partition wiped. All I would have to do is use the Jon say for instance when my ex is around visiting the munchkins and get anything she wants from it.

If you are worried about your data, encrypt the drive. If someone is capable of using a simple boot recovery disk to bypass your Windows password, they're probably also able to use a simple file recovery tool to recover files after a format. The likelihood that you have anything that anyone would actually want is slim, but if you do, then you need to encrypt the drive.

 

[SinfulWeeper]

Its only a laptop. No critical files are on it. But a lot of tidbits are there. I will look into encrypting, never thought of that nor have i done it.

 

[John Connor]

Truecrypt can't be used in a UEFI. If you're computer is new use Veracrypt. I use TC myself with a password that's well over 15 characters long using upper/lower case letters, numbers and symbols and committed to memory.

The best way to make a password is use the first letter of song lyrics and throw in numbers and symbols. For example. The song Set Fire To The Rain by Adle.

I let it fall, my heart,
And as it fell you rose to claim it.

Use the first letter of all that or less. So, ILIFMHAAIFYRTCI. Now add other crap. ILIFMHAAIFYRTCI1234!@#$

 

[Puffnstuff]

Would a self encrypting drive help the OP in this scenario?

 

[Murloc]

your grammar confused readers quite a bit lol.

You want to use encryption anyway, it's for exactly this purpose, no need for autodestruction mechanisms that way.

 

[John Connor]

Would a self encrypting drive help the OP in this scenario?

The issue with encryption is if you need your PC accessed to be fixed that will be an issue. Also, you can't do a repair install or fix anything with the Windows disk once the drive is encrypted. If using TC, you have to be careful with Flexnet or Safecast. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrueCrypt#Incompatibility_with_FlexNet_Publisher_and_SafeCast

And then there's some software that might over write the boot loader so you will need to make sure you keep your Truecrypt backup loader disk safe to restore.

All of the flaws listed about TC are when the computer is on. Of course any computer that is encrypted that is on is going to be vulnerable regardless of what encryption software you run.

 

[Kamaslerh]

So I have a laptop. Nicely secure. One day the keyboard dies. I needed info on drive in less than an hour. I bring it to a computer shop and told them I need it unlocked in less than an hour. I return in 35 minutes to see how things are going. To my horror he was watching my Netflix ( not that I care about that). I asked how he did that... With this USB password reset stick. It can also be bypassed through improper shut down.

I have all my critical software and files stored at home. But my laptop... All someone needs to bypass Windows 7 password ? I want to move all important data to a different partition. Said such two bypasses be used. I want that partition formatted. How do I do it? I could care less of data lost. Those are backed up at home.

The same thing happened to me , i forgot my admin password on my Windows, so i unable open my local account , then i tried using the Microsoft account to bypass Windows password , but i even forgot the Microsoft account Email ID ,i can not get a new password , i am going to use the CMD next time , Waitting for my news

 

[Red Squirrel]

If you have physical access to a computer, you have full access to the computer. Windows is fairly easy to get into, Linux, believe it or not, is even easier. All you need to do is boot a live cd, mount the local drive, chroot to it, and use the passwd command to change the password. You are root.

The only way to protect from that is to use full disk encryption.