This guest post was written by Blair Mathis from LaptopLogic.com – your premier source for the latest laptop software news and best laptop accessories.
Computer passwords are like locks on doors – they keep honest people
honest. If someone wishes to gain access to your laptop or computer, a
simple login password will not stop them. Most computer users do not
realize how simple it is to access the login password for a computer,
and end up leaving vulnerable data on their computer, unencrypted and
easy to access.
Are you curious how easy it is for someone to gain access to your
computer? If so, read on to see the technique one might use to figure
out your computer password.
Windows
Windows is still the most popular operating system, and the method used
to discover the login password is the easiest. The program used is
called
Ophcrack, and it
is free. Ophcrack is based on Slackware, and uses rainbow tables to
solve passwords up to 14 characters in length. The time required to
solve a password? Generally 10 seconds. The expertise needed? None.
Simply
download the Ophcrack ISO and burn it to a CD (or load it onto a USB
drive via UNetbootin). Insert the CD into a machine you would like to
gain access to, then press and hold the power button until the computer
shuts down. Turn the computer back on and enter BIOS at startup. Change
the boot sequence to CD before HDD, then save and exit.
The computer will restart and Ophcrack will be loaded. Sit back and
watch as it does all the work for your. Write down the password it gives
you, remove the disc, restart the computer, and log in as if it were
you own machine.
Mac
The second most popular operating system, OS X is no safer when it comes to password cracking then Windows.
The easiest method would be to use Ophcrack on this, also, as it
works with Mac and Linux in addition to Windows. However, there are
other methods that can be used, as demonstrated below.
If the Mac runs OS X 10.4, then you only need the installation CD.
Insert it into the computer, reboot. When it starts up, select UTILITIES
> RESET PASSWORD. Choose a new password and then use that to log in.
If the Mac runs OS X 10.5, restart the computer and press COMMAND + S. When at the prompt, type:
fsck -fy
mount -uw /
launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist
dscl . -passwd /Users/UserName newpassword
That’s it. Now that the password is reset, you can login.
Linux
Finally, there is Linux, an operating system quickly gaining popularity
in mainstream, but not so common you’re likely to come across it. Though
Mac and Linux are both based on Unix, it is easier to change the
password in Linux than it is OS X.
To change the password, turn on the computer and press the ESC key
when GRUB appears. Scroll down and highlight ‘Recovery Mode’ and press
the ‘B’ key; this will cause you to enter ‘Single User Mode’.
You’re now at the prompt, and logged in as ‘root’ by default. Type
‘passwd’ and then choose a new password. This will change the root
password to whatever you enter. If you’re interested in only gaining
access to a single account on the system, however, then type ‘passwd
username’ replacing ‘username’ with the login name for the account you
would like to alter the password for.
Conclusion
There you have it – that is how simple it is for someone to
hack
your password. It requires no technical skills, no laborious tasks,
only simple words or programs. The moral of the story? Encrypt your data
to keep it safe. Don’t use only a password, but actually encryption,
such as Blowfish or AES-128. There are a number of programs that can do
this – TrueCrypt for Windows, or the native encryption found on Ubuntu,
creating a disk image in Mac, etc.
