Passware Warns: Save it or Not, it Takes Just a Few Minutes to Extract a Facebook or Google Password from Computer Memory

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Passware, Inc., a provider of password recovery, decryption, and electronic evidence discovery software for computer forensics, law enforcement organizations, government agencies, and private investigators, announces that Passware Kit Forensic v.12.3 can recover passwords for Facebook and Google from computer memory and hibernation files.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130220/PH62789 )

Social network passwords, once entered, reside in the computer memory even in locked computers. Until the next hibernation, a system hibernation file contains all the passwords, which leaves them accessible after the computer shuts down.

Social networks present a boundless source of information to computer forensics. The majority of sensitive information, including conversation histories, personal data, relationships to other people, etc., is stored remotely on the internet in social network profiles. Gaining access to this information is an invaluable part of computer forensics.

Using Passware Kit, computer forensics can extract those passwords not saved in a browser, regardless of their strength, from a computer memory image or a system hibernation file even after a user closes the browser and locks Windows or puts it into "sleep." Currently, Passware Kit recognizes passwords for Facebook and Google, and lists passwords for other websites detected in the memory.

Passware Kit also uses live memory analysis for instant decryption of BitLocker, TrueCrypt, Mac FileVault2, and PGP disks, as well as MS Office 2007-2013 documents, and instant recovery of Windows and Mac users' passwords.

Advice to Users to Prevent All Types of Memory Attacks
This new feature, available in Enterprise and Forensic editions of Passware Kit, is designed for corporate and forensic investigations performed on the seized computers.

For users concerned with protecting the privacy of their social networking passwords and content, Dmitry Sumin, CEO of Passware, Inc., notes, "There's no guarantee that professional-grade versions of Passware Kit won't fall into the wrong hands. As most users know, a running computer is insecure in many ways and leaving it unattended makes it available to unauthorized individuals. Simple advice for all users is to disable hibernation on their computers and after dealing with confidential information to power them off. Full-disk encryption also prevents access to the system hibernation file."

Learn more about Passware Kit Forensic 12.3: http://www.lostpassword.com/news/pnl66.htm.

Pricing and Availability
Passware Kit Forensic is available directly from Passware and a network of resellers worldwide, and can also be purchased in a bundle with EnCase – the leading eDiscovery solution by Guidance Software. The price is $995 with one year of free updates. Additional product information and screen shots are available at http://www.lostpassword.com/kit-forensic.htm.

About Passware, Inc.
Founded in 1998, Passware, Inc. is the worldwide leading maker of password recovery, decryption, and electronic evidence discovery software. Law enforcement and government agencies, institutions, corporations and private investigators, help desk personnel, and thousands of private consumers rely on Passware software products to ensure data availability in the event of lost passwords. Passware customers include many Fortune 100 companies and various US federal and state agencies, such as the IRS, US Army, US Department of Defense (DOD), US Department of Justice, US Department of Homeland Security, US Department of Transportation, US Postal Service, US Secret Service, US Senate, and US Supreme Court.

More information about Passware, Inc. is available at http://www.lostpassword.com/. Passware is a privately held corporation with its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif. and a software development and engineering office in Moscow, Russia.

SOURCE Passware, Inc.

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED