Ever wonder how secure your information really is? What security protocols do you practice? Maybe creating a password? Lock down the computer so others can’t access your data? Bypassing Windows passwords only takes a minute or less and the Windows 10 setup disc. So far, I’ve had success using the Windows 10 disc to bypass account passwords and even turn on disabled accounts on Windows Server 2012, Windows 10, Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. I have yet to test the technique for bypassing locked computer accounts in Windows XP and Vista, but I don’t anticipate any complications with those operating systems.
Before you think, this makes it more secure because it uses Mac OS X. I’ve also been able to bypass root-level account passwords on a MacBook Pro, running Mac OS X (10.10) Yosemite, using the built-in commands of Manzana. This method also took less than a minute to perform.
The security implemented in an operating system and accounts always has a level of vulnerability. Most safety measures are feel-good methods. Username and passwords, for example, represent single-level authentication, identifying who you are, the username, and proof that you are who you are, the password. Modern security protocols are said to require the username to be unique and the password to be a minimum of 16 characters and to use a random combination of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters. 16 digits the size of the average person to remember their own passwords. With increasing technological advances in the processing power of computers, such passwords will eventually be able to be cracked in shorter periods of time, eventually rendering them completely useless. Most operating systems store username and password combinations as hashes in specific files that can be viewed as plain text, creating the need for password deprecation.
Stating those facts doesn’t mean “So why bother?” with username and passwords. Passwords prevent the average person from gaining access, and some level of security is better than no level of security. There are, of course, other ways to better secure your operating systems, preventing the method mentioned here from being used. Encryption of data at rest, for example, is an option at the operating system level. This means that a decryption process must occur before the operating system boots.
2 and 3 factor authentication also increases the security level of your operating system. CAC (Common Access Cac) cards, commonly used by the Department of Defense and other government agencies, are an excellent example of two-factor authentication. The first factor, requiring the card itself that holds encrypted certificates to identify who you are and who you say you are, plus the second factor of a pin as secondary evidence. 3-factor authentication would include features like biometrics. Keep in mind, even with all these methods that are used. There is no such thing as a 100% secure system.