Frequently Asked Questions - Passware - Password recovery software and services

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: How long does it normally take to recover a password?

Passwords that cannot be recovered or reset instantly (e.g. file-open passwords for Rar, Zip, Word, Excel, MS Money, Lotus Notes) are searched by Dictionary, Xieve, and Brute-force attacks. It may take from a few minutes up to several days to find a password, depending on its length and symbol set. For example, it usually takes one day to check all 8-letter file-open passwords from Word/Excel 2003 on an average P-IV PC processing 400,000 passwords per second.

You can significantly improve a password recovery process by using patterns if any part of the password is known. Just enter this part in the "Pattern" field at "Settings|Brute-force->Use pattern", e.g., "*john*". If you know several parts, enter them in the "Pattern" field separated with '*'. For example, if a password starts with "ab", and "cde" is in the middle, the pattern should be "ab*cde*".

You can also speed up the process by changing the program settings: range of password length, symbol set, etc.

For MS Word and Excel 95 - 2003 files, we can also offer our instant password removal service Decryptum. It takes less than a minute to decrypt any MS Word/Excel file, regardless of the password length. The service costs US $29 per file.

Q: Why do I sometimes get random characters instead of the original passwords?

Passwords for databases, such as QuickBooks, FileMaker, MYOB, as well as file-modify passwords for Word and Excel files, can be reset instantly. Our software instantly generates new passwords to unprotect such files. It is normal for a new password to look like a set of random characters. Just copy and paste the new password to unlock your file.

To unlock your QuickBooks or FileMaker database, make sure you open the same file that was processed by our software. The new passwords will not work with the original file or its backup copy.

Q: How much does it cost to update Passware product to the latest version?

All updates for our single products are free for registered customers. Just fill out this form and we will send you the latest version.

Update to the latest version of Windows Key Enterprise costs US $95.00. Please contact Support with your original order number to purchase the latest version of Windows Key Enterprise at this special price.

Passware Kit Subscription costs US $195.00 per year. Passware Kit Enterprise includes a free one-year Subscription.

Q: How can I transfer Passware product to another PC?

You can copy the installation file (.exe) for our software on any removable device and install the product on your other PC using the same serial number. If you no longer have the installation file or serial number, fill out this form and we will resend the information to you.

Q: How do I uninstall Passware product?

You can uninstall our software directly from the "Add or Remove Programs" list at "Start->Settings->Control Panel", or follow the steps below:

Run the unwise.exe file from the "Program Files\Passware" or "Program Files\Passware\demos" folder.
You will be prompted to locate the "INSTALL.LOG" file. Change the file name to "xxxkey.log" (e.g., "xlkey.log" for Excel Key, or "xlkeyd.log" for Excel Key Demo) and click "Open".
Proceed to the "automatically uninstall" option.

Q: Can Passware products process multiple files at one time?

Unfortunately, our products do not support batch password recovery processes yet. This feature will be implemented in future versions of our software.

We recommend subscribing our news list, to receive important news about updates.

Q: Do Passware products support Macintosh?

Our software supports PC platforms only. However, it can recover passwords for some files created on Macintosh such as FileMaker. You can run our products on a Virtual PC or Parallels Desktop to unprotect your files.

Q: What are the limitations for the demo version? Why did it fail to recover my password?

Demo version recovers passwords which are not longer than 2 characters, or displays the first 2 characters of a password in case it can be recovered with the Dictionary attack. Demo version helps you to evaluate the product and check if your files are supported.

Q: What do the "No accounts detected" and "No installations detected" errors by Messenger Key mean?

MSN and Yahoo Messengers store account information in a registry. The fact that Messenger Key fails to find any installation or account on your system means that MSN/Yahoo Messenger installation or this registry record must have become corrupted. Unfortunately, Messenger Key is unable to recover a password in this case.

To recover your password, please try other methods described in our Knowledge Base.

Q: Why does Symantec Anti-Virus keep blocking Asterisk Key?

Symantec (Norton Antivirus in particular) considers Asterisk Key to be malware (hacktool) which threatens system security, since it reveals hidden passwords and is freeware. See this article for more information.

You can delete our software from the Quarantine List manually or just disable the A-V activity temporally during the installation.