Decrypt Sam File Windows 7

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December 7th, 2018 by Oleg Afonin
Category: «General»
  1. Decrypt File Online
  2. Decrypt My File
  3. Windows Sam File Editor
  4. Decrypt Sam File Windows 7 Gratis
  5. Open Sam File Windows 7

Step 1: Extract Hashes from Windows. Security Account Manager (SAM) is a database file in Windows 10/8/7/XP that stores user passwords in encrypted form, which could be located in the following directory: C: Windows system32 config. The first thing we need to do is grab the password hashes from the SAM file.

Some 22 years ago, Microsoft made an attempt to make Windows more secure by adding an extra layer of protection. The SAM Lock Tool, commonly known as SYSKEY (the name of its executable file), was used to encrypt the content of the Windows Security Account Manager (SAM) database. The encryption was using a 128-bit RC4 encryption key.

  • Nov 23, 2020 In Windows 7, RC4 encryption was used which is an obsolete algorithm and hence Mimikatz used to dump hashes in cleartext but ever since Windows 10 Anniversary Update v1607 has been out, Microsoft uses the AES-128 cipher for encryption and hence, this made many password dumping tools obsolete.
  • On Vista, 7, 8 and 10 LM hash is supported for backward compatibility but is disabled by default. The goal is too extract LM and/or NTLM hashes from the system, either live or dead. These hashes are stored in memory (RAM) and in flat files (registry hives).

The user had an option to specify a password that would protect authentication credentials of Windows accounts stored in the SAM database. If SYSKEY password was set, Windows would ask for this password during startup before displaying the login and password prompt.

While SYSKEY was not using the strongest encryption, attacking (brute-forcing or resetting) the user’s Windows login and password would not be possible without first decrypting the SAM database. As a result, a SYSKEY password would require the attacker to brute-force or reset SYSKEY protection prior to accessing the system’s Windows accounts. More importantly, an unknown SYSKEY password would prevent the user’s system from fully booting. This fact was widely exploited by ransomware and commonly abused by “tech support” scammers who locked victims out of their own computers via fake “tech support” calls.

Due to SAM database encryption, reinstalling or repairing Windows would not solve the issue unless the user had access to a recent backup or a System Restore Point. For this reason, Microsoft removed the ability to set SYSKEY passwords in Windows 10 (release 1709) and Windows Server 2016 (release 1709), steering users towards the much more secure BitLocker encryption instead. However, older systems are still susceptible to SYSKEY ransomware attacks.

Since SYSKEY protection is fairly old by hi-tech standards, it is no longer secure (it never been in the first place). Victims of SYSKEY ransomware or “tech support” scammers can now restore their systems by recovering or resetting SYSKEY password. Elcomsoft System Recovery has the ability to discover or reset SYSKEY passwords in order to restore the system’s normal boot operation. This is also the first time ever we’re publishing screen shots of the Elcomsoft System Recovery user interface.

Removing SYSKEY Password

SYSKEY encryption is a relatively little known feature that was actively exploited by “tech support” scammers and ransomware. Once a SYSTEM password is activated, the entire SAM registry hive is encrypted. This makes it difficult to restore Windows to working condition, especially if the scammer has also removed all System Restore points. Victims of this scam will see the following message when they attempt to start their computer:

“This computer is configured to require a password in order to start up.”

Elcomsoft System Recovery can attempt to automatically reset SYSKEY protection. A straightforward removal of SYSKEY password bears the risk of breaking the Windows boot process. For this reason, Elcomsoft System Recovery performs a number of safety checks to determine whether resetting a SYSKEY password of the particular system may cause issues.

Note: instructions below assume that you already created a bootable media containing Elcomsoft System Recovery 5.40 or newer.

In order to remove an unknown SYSKEY password, do the following.

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  1. Boot your computer to bootable storage media with Elcomsoft System Recovery. Depending on your computer’s motherboard manufacturer, you may need to press Del, F8, F11, F12 or another key to invoke a special menu to temporarily override boot order or to enter UEFI/BIOS setup.
  2. In Elcomsoft System Recovery, specify the disk or partition where Windows is installed, then click Next.
  3. The ability to remove SYSKEY passwords is located under Miscellaneous.
  4. Choose SYSKEY.
  5. Select whether ESR should automatically search for the SAM database or specify its location.
  6. The tool will perform the necessary safety checks and warn you if a potential issue is detected. To just reset the password, leave the “Search…” option blank. Click “Reset SYSKEY” to finish.
  7. Finally, reboot your computer. Windows should start normally.

If a potential issue is discovered, you will see the following warning:

Decrypt My File

If you proceed, you will lose access to DPAPI encrypted data (EFS-encrypted files and folders). In addition, we recommend that you make backup copies of SAM, SYSTEM and SECURITY registry hives (this must be done manually).

Discovering SYSKEY Password

Resetting the SYSKEY password may or may not work depending on configuration of the particular system. Recovering the SYSKEY password is a significantly safer operation that does not have the potential negative impact of simply resetting the password. Elcomsoft System Recovery can automatically check your computer to look up for cached SYSKEY passwords throughout the system. The tool will analyze various registry keys, temporary files and databases to look up for a cached copy of SYSKEY password. If this is successful, SYSKEY protection can be removed instantly and risk-free.

In order to look up for SYSKEY password, do the following:

Decrypt
  1. Boot your computer to bootable storage media with Elcomsoft System Recovery. Depending on your computer’s motherboard manufacturer, you may need to press Del, F8, F11, F12 or another key to invoke a special menu to temporarily override boot order or to enter UEFI/BIOS setup.
  2. Follow steps 2 through 6 in Elcomsoft System Recovery. However, this time make sure the “Search for SYSKEY plain text password” option is selected.
  3. You will have the choice between a fast or thorough scan. Tap Recover SYSKEY to continue. The tool will attempt to locate the SYSKEY password on your computer.
  4. Take a note of the discovered SYSKEY password and reboot your computer. Enter the discovered SYSKEY password when prompted.

File

For a Microsoft Windows NT version of this article, see 143475.

Summary

The Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP, and Microsoft Windows 2003 Security Accounts Management Database (SAM) stores hashed copies of user passwords. This database is encrypted with a locally stored system key. To keep the SAM database secure, Windows requires that the password hashes are encrypted. Windows prevents the use of stored, unencrypted password hashes.
You can use the SysKey utility to additionally secure the SAM database by moving the SAM database encryption key off the Windows-based computer. The SysKey utility can also be used to configure a start-up password that must be entered to decrypt the system key so that Windows can access the SAM database. This article describes how to use the SysKey utility to secure the Windows SAM database.

More Information

Windows Sam File Editor

Configure Windows System Key Protection

Decrypt Sam File Windows 7 Gratis

To Configure Windows System Key Protection, follow these steps:

Open Sam File Windows 7

  1. At a command prompt, type syskey, and then press ENTER.

  2. In the Securing the Windows Account Database dialog box, note that the Encryption Enabled option is selected and is the only option available. When this option is selected, Windows will always encrypt the SAM database.

  3. Click Update.

  4. Click Password Startup if you want to require a password to start Windows. Use a complex password that contains a combination of upper case and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. The startup password must be at least 12 characters long and can be up to 128 characters long.
    Note If you must remotely restart a computer that requires a password (if you use the Password Startup option), a person must be at the local console during the restart. Use this option only if a trusted security administrator will be available to type the Startup password.

  5. Click System Generated Password if you do not want to require a startup password.
    Select either of the following options:

    • Click Store Startup Key on Floppy Disk to store the system startup password on a floppy disk. This requires that someone insert the floppy disk to start the operating system.

    • Click Store Startup Key Locally to store the encryption key on the hard disk of the local computer. This is the default option.

    Click OK two times to complete the procedure.
    Remove the SAM encryption key from the local hard disk by using the Store Startup Key on Floppy Disk option for optimum security. This provides the highest level of protection for the SAM database.
    Always create a back-up floppy disk if you use the Store Startup Key on Floppy Disk option. You can restart the system remotely if someone is available to insert the floppy disk into the computer when it restarts.

Note The Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 SAM database was not encrypted by default. You can encrypt the Windows NT 4.0 SAM database by using the SysKey utility.