How to find saved passwords in Windows 10?Many programs and websites usually prompt their users to save passwords for later use in their PCs and phones. This is usually stored on software such as Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, and popular browsers such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Opera (for PCs and smartphones) also offer this password saving feature.
This password is usually stored in secondary memory and can be retrieved even if the system is turned off. In particular, these usernames and their associated passwords are stored in the registry, Windows Vault, or in a credential file. All of these credentials accumulate in an encrypted format, but they can be easily decrypted by simply entering the Windows password.
A common task for all end-users is to find out all the passwords stored on his/her computer. This ultimately helps in recovering the lost or forgotten access details of any particular online service or application. It is a simple task but depends on some aspects like the operating system that the user is using or the application that is being used.
In this article, we'll show you different tools that can help you see the different hidden encryption passwords in your system.
Use the Windows Credential Manager
Let's get to know this tool first. It is a built-in credential manager for Windows that allows users to store their confidential usernames and passwords as well as other credentials that users enter when they log in to any website or network.
Storing these credentials in a manageable way can help you automatically sign in to the site. This ultimately reduces the user's time and effort as they don't have to enter their login credentials every time they use this site. To view these usernames and passwords stored in the Windows Credential Manager, you must complete the following steps.
1. Search for "Credential Manager" in the Start menu search box. Click the search result you want to open.
Note: You will notice that there are two categories: Web Credentials and Windows Credentials. This will list your entire web credentials, as well as any passwords you have saved for the site during browsing with different browsers.
2. Select and expand the link to view the password by clicking on the arrow button under the Web Password option and clicking on the "Show" button.
3. It will now prompt you to type the Windows password you used to decrypt the password and it will be shown to you.
4. Unless you're in a corporate environment, you'll most likely see fewer credentials stored there when you click on Windows Credentials next to Web Credentials. When you connect to a network share or network device, such as a NAS, you'll see credentials at the application and network level.
Use the command prompt to find the saved password
1. Press Windows key + S to open the search. Type cmd, then right-click on the command prompt and select Run as administrator.
2. Now type the following command in cmd and press enter:
rundll32.exe keymgr.dll,KRShowKeyMgr 3. Once you press the enter key, the stored username and password window will open.
4. You can now add, remove, or edit saved passwords.
Use third-party tools
There are other third-party tools that can help you view the passwords stored in your system. These are:
CredentialsFileView
1. Once downloaded, right-click on the CredentialsFileView app and select Run as Administrator.
2. You will see the main dialog box that will pop up. You have to type your Windows password at the bottom and press "OK".
Note: You can now see a list of different credentials stored on your computer. If you're on the domain, you'll also see more data in the form of a database with file name, version modification time, and so on.
VaultPasswordView
It has the same functionality as CredentialsFileView, but it will be viewed in Windows Vault. This tool is especially important for Windows 8 and Windows 10 users, as these two operating systems store passwords for different applications such as Windows Mail, IE, and MS.Edge in Windows Vault.
EncryptedRegView
1. Run this program, a new dialog box will pop up, in which the box "Run as administrator" will be checked, press the "OK" button.
2. The tool will automatically scan the registry and decrypt the existing password it will get from the registry.