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Obtaining Users' Network passwords

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by cedricdbold

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I am the administrator of a Windows 2000/XP network. One of my tasks is setting up new/replacement PC's for new/current employees. I need to faind an easy(!) way to look up passwords for current users. We use Active Directory to manage our user/computer accounts, but I haven't figured out a way to utilize it for this purpose. Anybody out there got any ideas?

4 replies

by bschmidt

I know this isn't really the solution you're looking for, but if they're current employees and assuming they're in the same building as you if you're setting up their PC...could you just ask? They have to know it if they use it every day. Or what I do is reset their password in AD and when they log on next have them change it back to what it was originally. Again not what you're looking for I know, just throwing out ideas...

by bschaettle

You can't. Passwords are hashed, so that NO ONE can look them up. All you can do is reset them. As network admin you should know the password for the admin account on every workstation so you can login and update the machine.

by nz_justice

I do no think there is an easy way to look up paswords, but having AD and being an administrator you do not need to look up users passwords, if they forget there password you just create them a new one in AD that is the easyist.

by brudab

The general policy for admins is that no one should be able to look up users' passwords. If you the administrator could, then it's possible someone else could too.

Best practice: reset the user's password so you can do your work.

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