default winxp password (little hint

by default, after installing windows xp (PRO, although it's possible this happens on HOME as well) the default administrator password is.... you guessed it. Nothing. Not "nothing" but it's blank. so change that if you have win xp pro


How do i change this if i can't get to it?

Easy. Instead of using the quick and happy welcome screen, go into control panel/user accounts/change the way users sign on and disable the welcome screen (you can enable it later on)

after it's disabled, ctrl-alt-del and go to log off and log in as "Administrator" with no password. after you're in, ctrl-alt-del again, and go to "change password" make it something hard to guess. not like "Admin" or whatever. you get the point. after this, you can log off, log back in to your normal account, and re-enable the welcome screen (if you actually enjoy it)

hope this helps.

if this has been posted before, pm me and i'll remove it.
thanks,
-sick

yep it's been posted before here

http://www.antionline.com/showthread...0&pagenumber=2
post #15
and here

http://www.antionline.com/showthread...hreadid=240628
post#9

an easier method than the one you have given

but it' worth keeping this post here... just to remind everyone :D

Z

PS the default XP admin account is on Home as well... if I were you and everyone else I'd change the admin ID as well as the password (why makes things easy for anyone??)

Thanks for sharing this this will come in handy if I ever need it

Umm did you say that the xp pro password is blank? It may be blank on installations you dont do yourself but if your installing xp pro yourself it asks you to define the admin password.

The blank password is default for just about every windows OS... Most installs have some sort of program (ie Sysprep) that Prepares your system for use and one of the tasks is to set the default admin password. Zonewalker is right about changing the name of the account too, its a good idea. As a rule of thumb you should always change the password on ANYTHING you get... Even if it is defaulted to something other than being blank... if the default windows password was "BillI$Ritch" it would be the same as being blank everyone will know it. My favorite is with Remote Instalation Services "RIS" and other installs that can have an unattended install saves the password in normal text... and if you want to add the computer to a domain that password is also stored as normal text...

I want to say something about password.

First never use phrases like john, hacker, admin.... Never use meaningful wordso. If you use words used in dictionary probably someone would make u a dictattack. Same with the numbers 12948057, 9035620567, 23524575, they arent strong even
28569395820438523945032... In all port scanner programs have 'crack password' speciality...

The best password is combination of numbers, letters and characters. It matters the letters are big or little. In Microsoft OS's the passwords can be up to 32 characters. So a good password can be Fh4&f'g%/&hjuerWi(qQgY563gb!

Darksnake - just to clarify for you, XP has a hidden admin account and it is this we are talking about. It's only accessible when either using safe mode or the recovery console. The reason the account password is blank (I suspect - but I don't have a link to MS so I'm just surmising here) is in case you forget the visible admin password or in case password gets corrupted if the computer gets fuct. Having a blank password will still enable you to get to the recovery console without problem whereas if you put a password on the hidden admin account there exists the possibility that a full reinstall will be required and potential loss of data. I think it's just MS trying to make things ridiculously easy for the home (l)user.

So whilst you do indeed have to supply a password for the visible admin account i.e. the one that XP asks you for when you first install XP - trust me there is a hidden admin account that does not have a password. Try logging into XP on safe mode and inputting the username 'Administrator' in the login box and leaving the password blank - you should get in no problem.

If you're not aware of the hidden admin account - you might want to look into it a bit :D.

Z

PS Alihan I agree with what your saying about the use of strong passwords.... but I can't help feeling that your example of a strong password could be a little difficult to remember. It's no use having a password that a person has to write on a post it note..... to clarify strong passwords should include numbers, upper and lower case and some ASCII characters be more than 15 characters in length but should have some meabning to the user so they can remember it. For example a passage from a favourite book converted to letters and numbers is good.

Default passwords are often an issue.

You can find a list of these on my website if your interested.

http://itdepartment.0catch.com

All networking equipment and operating systems are covered.

Note : This is not for malicious purposes but for the intent of helping you secure what you have.

I must be missing something (WinXP Pro). After reading about hidden administrator accounts, I restarted my computer in safe mode and the welcome screen showed icons for my usual account and an administrator account. Passwords were required for both and they were the ones that I specified when 1) I specified the administrator password during installation and 2) the password I set for my user account under user accounts. Also, the account names and passwords are the same as given in Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Local Users and Groups -> Users.

This is how Win2K works and it makes sense to me. Where is this secret administrator's account and how do I find it??

I must ask, has anyone here used this hidden admin blank passworded account before? I have used the recovery console just recently and it used the administrator password that i specified. It just makes no sense to me that there would be two admin accounts on a machine, unless it was setup that way by the user.