# How do I find out the password on my computer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2004, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868 "2004-05-19T00:36:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/1 "2004-05-19T00:36:06Z")
How do I find out what the password is for the screensaver for my windows 98 computer? ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/2 "2004-05-19T00:57:50Z")
Well, you could always hard reset it, then go disable or change the password. I don’t know of any way to find out exactly what the password is. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/3 "2004-05-19T01:08:13Z")
It wouldn’t be a very secure password if there were an easy way to find it out, would it? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/4 "2004-05-19T01:12:05Z")
It doesn’t need to be especially secure. It’s designed to hide the contents of your screen or stop people using your comp while you’re away getting coffee. ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/5 "2004-05-19T03:28:17Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > It doesn’t need to be especially secure. It’s designed to hide the contents of your screen or stop people using your comp while you’re away getting coffee. Which means it needs to be secure as your computer itself. Which, since we’re talking about Windows 98, that means not at all (since you can just reboot the computer and thereby gain total access to it anyway). Windows 98 has no security. There’s no easy way to find out what it is, but it’s very easy to reset it. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/6 "2004-05-19T03:29:26Z")
I just saw “very secure password” and “Windows 98” together. Excuse me… **HAHAHAHAHA!!!** Windows 9x has laughable security. Basically non-existent. Do a search on Google for **Windows 98 screensaver password** and you’ll find tools to do this. Windows NT/XP/2000 on the other hand has **extremely** good security. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/7 "2004-05-19T05:47:56Z")
Yay, a topic, just right for my handle! 😃 Boot Win98. Go to the \Windows directory and find any and all .pwl files. Delete them. All passwords are gone, so you can create a new one. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/8 "2004-05-19T05:55:24Z")
I believe that older versions of a program called “Cain” could tell you the password quite easily - simply click a button and the password pops up. I haven’t used a Windows 98 box in a while though, so I could be remembering a different program. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/9 "2004-05-19T06:19:41Z")
> [@Hail Ants](#): > > Windows NT/XP/2000 on the other hand has **extremely** good security. …which is only breakable in about a minute with one of a jillion easily available tools 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/10 "2004-05-19T13:21:09Z")
Why can’t you just reboot by pushing the power button and then when the computer comes back on - before the screensaver kicks in - go to Display properties and reset it? ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/11 "2004-05-19T14:00:05Z")
> [@missbunny](#): > > Why can’t you just reboot by pushing the power button and then when the computer comes back on - before the screensaver kicks in - go to Display properties and reset it? That’s what I suggested… but maybe he wants to find out what it is… I don’t know why… perhaps it’s not his computer and he doesn’t want the other person to find out he was meddling with it? ---
**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/12 "2004-05-20T06:11:34Z")
thanks for all the responces. > [@missbunny](#): > > Why can’t you just reboot by pushing the power button and then when the computer comes back on - before the screensaver kicks in - go to Display properties and reset it? it’s a little complucated. needless to say, yes, i do know that all i have to do is reboot the computer and then i can change the password. but i don’t want to do that. i just want to find out what the pass word is. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/13 "2004-05-21T00:33:19Z")
I like Bios passwords… They got to open the case to get past those… Don’t matter to OS that way… ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-find-out-the-password-on-my-computer/245868/14 "2004-05-21T04:45:18Z")
This has been answered as best we can allow in GQ. This thread is now closed. - **xash** General Questions Moderator