The most used security measure on the computer is the Windows password, that is the login password that appears after turning on the computer. This password protection is used both if you leave your computer or laptop turned on in offices or rooms with other people around, and as a deterrent if someone wants to enter the computer from the network. However, if we forget the Windows login password, we can recover it with special hacking tools or we can rely on the recovery procedure offered by Microsoft itself (in case we have associated the Microsoft account with Windows). In this guide we will show you all the steps to follow to access a Windows computer without a password, showing you the recovery procedures offered by Microsoft and the most famous and effective hacking tools. Obviously we advise you to use these tools only on your own computer after forgetting your password, so as not to do anything illegal.
READ ALSO: How to Reset the Windows 10 password to access the PC
How to access a Windows computer without a password
We can currently access a Windows computer in two ways: with a Microsoft online account (on Windows 10 and Windows 8.1) or with a local account (all versions of Windows still supported). In the guide we will show you how to access Windows when we have forgotten your password, whatever the way used.How to log on to a Windows computer with online account
On Windows 10 and Windows 8.1 we can also log in to the system with our Microsoft account, which will then synchronize user data online via an encrypted connection. If we used access with Microsoft online accounts, we cannot use any password recovery tool, since the access files are encrypted within the operating system. If we have therefore forgotten the password or PIN for accessing Windows with an online account, we can remedy this by resetting the password on the Microsoft account .To do this, go to the official page Recover your account, type the email address associated with the account and follow the recommended steps to be able to verify our identity.
Based on the security configuration applied to the account, we will be asked about security questions to answer, but we can also restore via a code sent to a secondary emergency email or via an unlock code available via SMS or via the App Authenticator on mobile.
Once our identity has been verified, the field in which we will have to enter the new password for the Microsoft account will appear, taking care to remember it or save it in a safe place . After performing the reset, we connect the computer on which to access the Internet via an Ethernet cable (to avoid problems with Wi-Fi, we prefer the cable so that the Internet is always active) let's turn it on and, in the login screen, enter the new password; thanks to Internet access, the system will immediately recognize the new password and we will be able to access it again.
If we had set an access PIN, we can move on to entering the password by clicking on Access options (on the login screen) and clicking on the Password icon. Once you enter the system again, we change the associated PIN by going to Settings -> Accounts -> Login options and selecting Windows Hello PIN .
You just have to click Remove to delete the old PIN and generate a new one, so you can quickly and quickly access the computer again without having to type in the access password each time.
How to log on to a Windows computer with a local account
If instead we have created a local account on Windows, we can access it even without knowing the password, just use a tool called KON-BOOT. (unfortunately this time you pay)
The strength of KON-BOOT is that it does not crack the passwords, tries to recover them and does not make any changes to the system; it simply allows the computer to power on and boot without a password . At the next restart then everything returns as before and you don't notice anything. To use KON-BOOT just download the ISO, copy it to a CD, restart the computer by setting the boot from CD (in the bios) and wait for Windows to load. The user guide is really reduced to the bone for how simple this program is.
- We download the Konboot.zip file, unzip the archive and transfer the ISO of KON-BOOT to a CD using a burning program .
- Now put the CD with KON-BOOT in the drive with the PC off, set the boot from CD (see here how to access the bios ) and access the system contained within the disc.
- With each screen that appears, you just have to press the Enter key and, if everything worked correctly, Windows will turn on without password requests and will be completely usable.
After using the Windows operating system, we restart the PC without the KON-BOOT disk; after loading, the typical login screen will appear asking for the password, as if nothing had happened! KON-BOOT is very powerful and works on almost all computers, at least on those that have a local Windows account (no online account, since encryption prevents being able to bypass the login system).
If desired, you can also use KON-BOOT by copying it to a USB stick, using one of the tools recommended in our guide on how to make a USB / SD pen bootable from ISO and IMG files .
The alternatives to KON-BOOT still working are very few; below we can find other tools for bypassing the Windows password:
- ophcrack
This program can be used to unlock your PC if you forget your password - Offline NT Password
None of these solutions are as effective as KON-BOOT, which still remains the best tool for accessing a Windows computer without a password.
Conclusions
As we have seen, if we use an online account the recovery of the access password is really very simple and at the same time safe, we will only have to be careful to set up effective recovery systems (secondary email, security questions, Two Factor etc.). If instead we have created a local account, in fact only KON-BOOT can be used to attempt access to the system, since the other similar tools are either too old or do not allow you to quickly recover access to the system.In another article, however, we showed you how to easily recover the Windows login administrator password without using programs.
If, on the other hand, we would like to increase security when logging on to Windows, we advise you to read our guide on how to protect access to the Windows PC with a screen lock and password .
READ ALSO: Access on Windows 10 without password
