BOOT CAMP 528 (10/06/08)
User Accounts and Password Recovery part 3
I not
aware of any authoritative research on the subject but judging by my own
experiences and those of my family and friends I suspect that the average adult
living in the UK has at least half a dozen passwords and PINs that they use on
a regular basis. It’s probably more than that for a lot of people but the point
is, we all get a bit absent-minded at times -- and it really does get worse as
you get older -- and sooner or later you are going to forget one of them.
Usually it’s just an inconvenience and if it’s for a credit or debit card it
can usually be resolved fairly quickly by calling a Helpline, but whom do you
call if you are locked out of your computer?
We’ll
begin this week with some tips on how to avoid it happening in the first place
and what to do if it does. Next week we’ll put the whole business of PC
security in doubt by showing you how to make an XP and Vista password recovery
disc.
If you
heeded the advice offered when you set up your account(s) a temporary bout of
amnesia shouldn’t be a problem. At the point when you create a password Windows
XP and Vista invites you to enter a ‘hint’ word or phrase that will jog your
memory, should the worse happen. In XP this will be displayed if you click the
question mark icon next to the password box on the logon page, Vista is even
more helpful and shows the hint it if you enter an incorrect password. The
trick is not to use anything too obvious because anyone can see it. If you
didn’t set up a password hint at the time it’s not too late so why not do it
now, before you forget…
In
both XP and Vista Go to Start > Control Panel > User Accounts (make sure
you are logged on to your account), select your account icon and click ‘Change
my password’. Enter your existing password then re-enter it in the New Password
and Confirm Password boxes (unless you actually want to change it, in which
case now’s your chance to create a new one) then fill out the Hint box and
click OK
The
Hint method is fine if your password is something memorable, but this type of
password is the least secure as it could be guessed by someone who knows you,
or it could be found using a ‘brute force’ or dictionary password-cracking
program. If you want a really strong password then you should use a random
collection of alphanumeric characters, but no end of hints are going to help
you remember that.
Again
it’s not a problem and Windows has this one covered as well. XP and Vista have a facility to create a
password reset disc, which does just that, so in theory there’s no need to
remember anything, except where you keep it. The disc can be a floppy or USB
pen drive, or even a Zip disc but I have never managed to get it to work using
recordable CDs or DVDs. To make one all you have to do is open User Accounts in
Control Panel, click on your User icon then on the left hand side, under
Related Tasks (Tasks in Vista) click Prevent Forgotten Password (Create
Password reset disk in Vista). Select the drive letter from the drop-down menu,
click Next, enter your current password then click Next and Finish. You should
store the disc in a safe and secure place because anyone can use it to zap your
passwords.
If you
need to use it then at the Windows XP Logon screen click the arrow to the right
of the password box, click ‘Use password reset disk’ and follow the
instructions. In Vista, after you have typed an incorrect password click the OK
button, click Reset Password and follow the prompts to create a new password.
You don’t have to create a new reset disc after you’ve changed your password,
and in case you were wondering, it only works on the PC that it was created on.
It all
sounds fairly straightforward but on the few occasions I have tried to use this
method it didn’t work. In one instance it was because the PC in question
stubbornly refused to recognise the USB drive and on another occasion the reset
data, on a floppy, was corrupt. Your experiences may well be different but
personally I wouldn’t rely upon it. I’m a great believer in the belt and braces
approach so if you have an unmemorable or complex password write it down on a
piece of paper, put it somewhere safe and of course, try not to forget where it
is…
Finally,
a quick tip for XP Home Users. The main Admin Account is not usually displayed,
but you can get to it in Safe Mode by pressing F8 repeatedly after
start-up. After Safe Mode has finished
loading click on the Administrator icon and enter the password ‘administrator’,
you should now be able to go into User Accounts in Control Panel and create new
accounts of change the passwords of existing ones.
Next Week – User Accounts
and Password Recovery part 4
Part 1 2 4 5
JARGON FILTER
BRUTE FORCE
Slow but sometimes successful password cracking technique that
guesses passwords, based on information known about the account holder, or by
entering words from a dictionary
PEN DRIVE
Small
self-contained memory module, used to store and transport data, plugs into a
PCs USB port
ZIP DISC
Proprietary disc format
developed by Iomega in 1994 with storage capacities of up to 750Mb, now
virtually obsolete
TOP TIP
If you are the only user of your XP or Vista computer and are fed
up with having to type in a password every time you use it then here’s a simple
way to make it bypass the logon screen and boot straight to your desktop. You
can also use this method to make any account boot automatically without a
password. In XP go to Run on the Start menu and enter ‘control userpasswords2’
(without the quotes) and click OK. In Vista type the same command in Search on
the Start menu. On the Users tab select the account you want to boot
automatically, uncheck the item ‘Users must enter a User Name and Password…’
and click OK. On the dialogue box that opens enter the account password, then
again in the Confirm box and click Apply. If you didn’t set up a password for
the account leave the boxes blank.
Don't forget, there's a
full archive of previous Boot Camp Top Tips at www.pctoptips.co.uk
---end---
© R. Maybury 2008, 2105
Part 1 2 4 5
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