Subject: Re: .pst password help
From: David Monroe (dwmonroe@gci.net)
Date: Wed Aug 01 2001 - 10:24:57 AKDT
Here's an excerpt from a Microsoft MSPress training kit:
Personal Folder Security
It is possible to specify an encryption algorithm for personal folder
stores. Depending on the security level you need, you can select the
options No Encryption, Compressible Encryption, and Best Encryption
when creating a .pst file. It is prudent to protect your .pst files
using an encryption algorithm and a password, as .pst files contain
your personal messages. If you define a password, however, there is one
possible catch: The password itself will be stored within the .pst file
to protect it from unauthorized access, so you must provide the
password on every client startup to open the .pst file. For the sake of
convenience, you can save the password in your current messaging
profile so the client can read the password from the profile without
having to prompt you for it. You will then be able to start your client
and access your personal folders immediately.
You might forget your password as time passes and you are not prompted
for it. You will still be able to use the .pst file because the
password is saved in the messaging profile. You will, however, have a
problem if you need to create a new profile that must include the
old .pst file. As soon as you try to include the existing .pst file, a
dialog box will appear asking you for the password. If you have
forgotten the password, there is no way to recover it. If you have
deleted the old profile (which stored the password), the data in
the .pst file is lost. If you still have access to the old profile,
however, you can log on to the personal folder store again—as the
password is available in the old profile—to move all messages to a
new .pst file.
This is Microsoft's official position. There are, however, several
utilities that claim to be able to crack .pst files specifically. I
hesitate to point to any of them, but a simple search on the Internet
should locate them.
Hope this helps...
David W. Monroe
A+, CNA, MCP+I, MCSE, CCNA
Network Engineer
Network Business Systems
Phone: 907-272-2888, Fax: 907-272-7117
Website: http://www.nbsys.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Prater, Jeremiah" <Jeremiah.Prater@inteq.com>
Date: Tuesday, July 31, 2001 9:22 am
Subject: .pst password help
> I have a user who has inadvertently placed a password on his .pst
> file. We
> have tried many different possible combinations of possible
> passwords to no
> avail. Does anyone know of a legitimate way to remove the password
> protection from this file. I will use a password cracker if
> necessary. I
> want to assure the list that I am acting on behalf of my company
> and am not
> attempting anything malicious.
>
> Thanks
>
> Jeremiah Prater
> Well Planner/Rig Link Administrator
> Baker Hughes Inteq (Alaska)
> Wk. (907)267-6658 Cell (907)250-6821
> MCP, CCNA, A+, Net+
>
>
>
>
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