How to Recover (or Reset) Lost Windows Password

photo by Idea Go

     I lost my Windows password at work once.  The exact sentence might as well be: I Forgot my windows password at work once.  Yes, I had cold sweat thinking of reformatting my hard disk.  All was not lost with the help of about.com PC Support and the 7 free windows password recovery tools. I managed to log on after 15 minutes.

     
     Of the seven password recovery tools, I used PC Log In Now

 and it worked like a charm for me.  It was easy to use nonetheless.
It required me to download the ISO file, burn it on a CD and boot to the CD.  It did not recover my password but instead it erased my password in order for me to create a new one.  I successfully accessed my account but experienced one minor drawback which is a recurring windows error.  However, my PC works normally.

    Here are the 7 Free Password Recovery Tools (as reviewed in About.Com) in case you get locked out too.

1. Ophcrack

2. Offline NT Password & Registry Editor

3. PC Login Now

4. Kon-Boot

5. Cain & Abel

6. LCP

7. John the Ripper

   
   

      Yes, it happens that we forget sometimes and these tools are great but when setting up a user account with password, we might as well create a Password Reset Disk. It'll be grand to access your computer in just about 5 minutes.

Crowd, Cloud and Google Apps - How They Became Loud

A year ago, I took a challenge.  That challenge was deploying Google Apps for Education.  A year and a half ago, I half-heartedly accepted the task of looking into “cloud computing” (which I mistakenly heard as “crowd”) from my visionary boss C.  Little did I know how this cloud computing could change the concepts of communication and collaboration in my humble workplace. 

With limited resources and budget, not-so-techie staff and language barrier, it was picture perfect for chaos. With chaos, I mean duplicates, missing files, clutter.  To add more, double engagements, missed meetings and overlooked events.  The whiteboard wasn’t effective anymore.  And so, inquiring into cloud computing and reflecting on our needs gradually revealed that Google Apps could be the solution. 

So it was. 

Here are the top 3 Google Apps that became my company’s communication and collaboration enhancers:

1.    Google Docs

2.    Google Calendar

3.    Gmail

I must also give credit to the teachers and staff who were very open-minded for a radical change. 

What Google Apps is essential for you?