# Recovering passwords from OE

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-passwords-from-oe/246255>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 20, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-passwords-from-oe/246255 "2004-05-20T22:39:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![akitaking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@akitaking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akitaking)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-passwords-from-oe/246255/1 "2004-05-20T22:39:56Z")

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I use Outlook Express to download my Hotmail messages, but I just realized that I don’t remember my Hotmail password anymore (I have it logged in Outlook Express so I haven’t actually typed it for a long time). Also I made my secret question and answer to be so cyrptic that even I can’t remember the right answer, so I can’t get into my account that way either!

Since my home computer has my password logged in Outlook Express, there MUST be some way to read it either by getting into the Outlook Express files or by using some kind of software. Have any fellow Dopers done such a thing before or can anyone recommend a safe way to do this? FYI, I use Windows 2000 and Outlook Express 6.

Thanks very much!

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**Author:** ![daffyduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@daffyduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daffyduck)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-passwords-from-oe/246255/2 "2004-05-20T22:59:23Z")

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I sought, I [found](http://www.pcworlddownload.com/system-utilities/system-repair/Advanced-Outlook-Express.htm).