Windows Password Files Torn Apart

All, Windows, users would probably be familiar with the infamous ‘pwl’ files or the files where the Windows login passwords are stored. Well, this manual is aimed at, simplifying how the authentication works when you type in your User name And password, what exactly .pwl files contain, where exactly they come into the picture and a whole lot of related things.

The *.pwl files are basically files in which the Windows Login Passwords are stored in. These files can be found in the \Windows directory by the name of the User, whose password it contains. For Example, if your Windows login Username is ankit, then the corresponding password would be stored in c:\windows\ankit.pwl Get it? These .pwl files are readable in any text editor like Notepad, but they are definitely not understandable. A typical example, of the contents of a .pwl file is as follows:

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#include

typedef struct tagPASSWORD_CACHE_ENTRY {
WORD cbEntry; // size of this entry, in bytes
WORD cbResource; // size of resource name, in bytes
WORD cbPassword; // size of password, in bytes
BYTE iEntry; // entry index
BYTE nType; // type of entry
BYTE abResource[1]; // start of resource name
// password immediately follows resource name
} PASSWORD_CACHE_ENTRY;

char *buf, *ob1;
int cnt = 0;

BOOL CALLBACK pce(PASSWORD_CACHE_ENTRY *x, DWORD)
{
cnt++;
memmove(buf, x->abResource, x->cbResource);
buf[x->cbResource] = 0;
CharToOem(buf, ob1); // for non-English users
printf("%-30s : ", ob1);

memmove(buf, x->abResource+x->cbResource, x->cbPassword);
buf[x->cbPassword] = 0;
CharToOem(buf, ob1);
printf("%s\n", ob1);

return TRUE;
}

void main()
{
buf = new char[1024];
ob1 = new char[1024];
puts("There is no security in this crazy world!\n"
"Win95 PWL viewer v1.01 (c) 1997, 98 Vitas Ramanchauskas\n"
"************\n"
"!DISCLAIMER!\n"
"!This program intended to be used for legal purpose only!\n"
"************\n\n"
"This program shows cached passwords using standard (but undocumented)\n"
"Windows API on local machine for current user (user must be logged in).\n"
"You may invoke pwlview in this way: pwlview >> textfile.txt\n"
"to save passwords in file (don't forget to press enter twice)\n"
"Press Enter to begin...\n");
getchar();

HINSTANCE hi = LoadLibrary("mpr.dll");
if(!hi)
{
puts("Couldn't load mpr.dll. This program is for Windows 95 only");
return;
}
WORD (__stdcall *enp)(LPSTR, WORD, BYTE, void*, DWORD) =
(WORD (__stdcall *)(LPSTR, WORD, BYTE, void*, DWORD))GetProcAddress(hi, "WNetEnumCachedPasswords");
if(!enp)
{
puts("Couldn't import function. This program is for Windows 95 only");
return;
}
(*enp)(0,0, 0xff, pce, 0);
if(!cnt)
puts("No passwords found.\n"
"Probably password caching was not used or user is not logged in.");
FreeLibrary(hi);
puts("\nPress Enter to quit");
getchar();
}

Create A Password Reset Disk

If you’re running Windows XP Professional as a local user in a workgroup environment, you can create a password reset disk to log onto your computer when you forget your password. To create the disk:
1.Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click User Accounts.
2.Click your account name.
3.Under Related Tasks, click Prevent a forgotten password.
4.Follow the directions in the Forgotten Password Wizard to create a password reset disk.
5.Store the disk in a secure location, because anyone using it can access your local user account.

Create A Password Reset Disk

Here's an important tip… If you are using a password protected user account in Windows XP (and you really, really should be ) you might be nervous about forgetting your password. Well here's a way to put your mind at ease, at least a little bit. Windows XP allows users to create a password reset disk specific to their user account. This disk can be used at the welcome screen to reset your password in the event that you do forget it.
To create the disk:
Go to start\control panel\user accounts. Select the account you are currently logged in as. Under the 'related tasks' heading in the top left corner, click 'prevent a forgotten password' to open the forgotten password wizard. Insert a blank floppy disk and follow the instructions to create your password reset disk.
To use the password reset disk in case of emergency:
Once you have created a password reset disk for a specific user, the next time the password for that user is entered incorrectly at the welcome screen, a message will pop up asking if you have forgotten your password. At this point you can elect to use your password reset disk. Follow the instructions to reset your password.
Note: There are a couple of possible problems with the above procedure. For one, if you have used Windows XP's built in encryption feature to encrypt some of your files and folders, but have not yet updated to service pack 1, do not reset your password, as you will lose access to all the encrypted data. Once you have got service pack 1, it is safe to use the disk. Also, you cannot gain access to the reset feature if you have disabled the welcome screen on XP by using tip #31 above.
Keep your reset disk in a safe location, because anyone else can also use it to reset your password...