If there is a computer password it will be easily guessed because it will violate all the basic rules of password construction and something on the desk will give it away.
“There’s a picture of his cat. What did he say the cat’s name was? Muffin? Maybe the password is Muffin? It is? Great!”
Along the same lines, if there’s a locked door to the Top Secret Laboratory, and the door lock is controlled by a touchpad, the hero will just happen to have an ultra violet flashlight (or something similar) that will reveal the keys that must be pressed to open said lock. And the order of pressing the keys will be easily deduced, because reasons.