![]() 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.ĭue 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. More importantly, an unknown SYSKEY password would prevent the user’s system from fully booting. 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. ![]() 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. If SYSKEY password was set, Windows would ask for this password during startup before displaying the login and password prompt. The user had an option to specify a password that would protect authentication credentials of Windows accounts stored in the SAM database. The encryption was using a 128-bit RC4 encryption key. 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. Some 22 years ago, Microsoft made an attempt to make Windows more secure by adding an extra layer of protection.
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