While trying to recover a long forgotten SQL password and exhausting the common/typical password selections, I had the need to seek a recovery utility (I couldn’t reset the password as a certain application depends on the current value). After looking for a bit I came across a great utility: Cain & Abel.

This free tool offers a multitude of password recovery methods for a variety of software titles. From their web site:

Cain & Abel is a password recovery tool for Microsoft Operating Systems. It allows easy recovery of various kind of passwords by sniffing the network, cracking encrypted passwords using Dictionary, Brute-Force and Cryptanalysis attacks, recording VoIP conversations, decoding scrambled passwords, recovering wireless network keys, revealing password boxes, uncovering cached passwords and analyzing routing protocols.

This program does not take advantage of exploits, only uses what the system makes available. In my case, after running a brute-force attack overnight, I was greeted in the morning with the password I needed.