is there any way that someone sitting at my computer can figure out
the password to my windows xp account? if so, what software program
would they use?

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Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 25 Sep 2005 14:45 PDT

twowaymirrors_net,

ElcomSoft Co.Ltd. has passsword recovery software for various applications.

Proactive System Password Recovery
http://www.crackpassword.com/products/prs/mswin/pspr/

Is this the kind of program you're looking for?

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Clarification of Question by twowaymirrors_net-ga on 29 Sep 2005 12:13 PDT

thanks guys, i'm going to check your these ideas and see how they work

While XP passwords cannot be cracked, they can be erased (reset to
blank) or changed to a different password. There are free utilities,
such as the Linux based "Austrumi" utility that will allow an XP user
password to be changed or cleared, but the existing password will not
be displayed or cracked.

Another way someone might obtain a password would be through what are
called keylogging programs.  There are many types of these, but all do
basically the same thing.  They're designed to record every key you
press on your computer and send them to a hidden file accessible only
to the person who installed the program.  Some of these will even take
a digital snapshot of your computer screen and store those as well. 
The program may be hidden on your computer..  or is sometimes done
remotely through weaknesses in your Windows Security System.  I had
this done to me once.  Luckily I discovered it before any vital
information was stolen from me.  This is Microsoft's security site: 
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/internet/sp2_wscintro.mspx
 and this next site is free and is a good way to test the
effectiveness of your computer security system if you're worried
someone is getting into your computer through the internet.
http://www.auditmypc.com/freescan/prefcan.asp



Good luck.

Hardware keyloggers can also be fitted.
http://www.keyghost.com/

In fact, someone can simply find out what your exising password is
using a utility from www.loginrecovery.com. Unless you pay a fee, the
process takes two days. However, the person would only need to sit at
your computer for a minute or two.

The process requires your computer to be rebooted. The rest of the
action happens on the loginrecovery servers. They hope you'll get
impatient and pay a fee to get the password faster, but after two
days, they do indeed show you the password for free.

More details:
http://www.loginrecovery.com/instructions.html

Free Live CD, Knoppix-std, includes chntpw, a utility which alleges to
reset that password, thus letting you log on w/o the password.  I am
in the mountains of mexico, and a computer guy has been trying to
reset a friends password. He forgot it, sigh, so far we haven't been
able to get it to work on a test computer.

EASIEST WAY IS TO GO HERE
loginrecovery.com
You can get it by using your friends comp. Easy to follow instructions too.

yeah u can
1. Place your Windows XP CD in your cd-rom and start your computer
(it?s assumed here that your XP CD is bootable ? as it should be - and
that you have your bios set to boot from CD)

2. Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your cd
Typically, it will be ?Press any key to boot from cd?

3. Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is
inspecting your system and loading files.

4. When you get to the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to Setup Windows now

5. The Licensing Agreement comes next - Press F8 to accept it.

6. The next screen is the Setup screen which gives you the option to do a Repair.

It should read something like ?If one of the following Windows XP
installations is damaged, Setup can try to repair it?

Use the up and down arrow keys to select your XP installation (if you
only have one, it should already be selected) and press R to begin the
Repair process.

7. Let the Repair run. Setup will now check your disks and then start
copying files which can take several minutes.

8. Shortly after the Copying Files stage, you will be required to
reboot. (this will happen automatically ? you will see a progress bar
stating ?Your computer will reboot in 15 seconds?

9. During the reboot, do not make the mistake of ?pressing any key? to
boot from the CD again! Setup will resume automatically with the
standard billboard screens and you will notice Installing Windows is
highlighted.

10. Keep your eye on the lower left hand side of the screen and when
you see the Installing Devices progress bar, press SHIFT + F10. This
is the security hole! A command console will now open up giving you
the potential for wide access to your system.

11. At the prompt, type NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter. Voila! You have
just gained graphical access to your User Accounts in the Control
Panel.

Create a new account with admin....
Then use run pwdump6 if ur on an xp machine and pipe the output to
something like LC5 or LC4 to brute force the password and you'll get
the old password back... the funny thing is having gained acess by the
cd exploit.... why would u want to know the old password, but hey
thats your answer...