Hi all. I've dug out an old laptop that I want to give to a friend, but I can't remember my password. Burnt Windows Password Recovery to a USB Drive. When I put it in the old laptop, and got it to boot from USB drive, I just get a blank screen with a Smiley Face in the top left hand corner, by the cursor. Any keys I press just adds another Smiley Face. I can't find the same problem happening to anyone else on Google, so I'm quite confused. It is a Samsung R519 running on Windows 7. Thanks in advance. SOD'EM

I'm in a bit of a pickle and am hoping someone can help me work out how to get around this: I bought my partner an Apple laptop via eBay three years ago. All seemed above board, but I collected in person and the seller insisted I pay cash as they didn't want to risk a Paypal chargeback - fair enough, I thought. At the time, they assured me they would send me a copy of the original Apple sale receipt and I asked several times. The seller then stopped responding to my messages. Not an issue, I thought, since I had the laptop and didn't think the proof of purchase would be an issue. To prevent the laptop being used if stolen, we put a firmware password on the laptop - this is a low-level password that effectively locks the Mac altogether if the hard disk is changed, which makes it very difficult for thieves to use the laptop if they steal it and try to wipe the hard drive. Six months later in 2015, we realised that we had forgotten the password. We took the laptop to Apple and, after e-mailing every bit of correspondence I had had from the eBay sale and with the seller of the laptop, a nice chap at Apple Ireland authorised my local Apple repair shop to reset the firmware password. Thinking we were out of the woods, my partner put a new password on the machine, wrote it down safely in a book, and that was that. Fast forward to two weeks ago, and we have realised that we have once again forgotten the password, and, having moved house, have lost the book. However, this time, Apple have refused to reset the password, because we don't have the original sale receipt for the laptop. Apple have said that, since we don't have the original proof of purchase, we will have to pay around £500 to have a new main board (the logic board) replaced. My instinct in this matter is that, having proven once beyond reasonable doubt that we are the legitimate owners of the laptop, a reasonable person would believe that we are still the rightful owners of the laptop, and Apple should remove the password. If somebody could help, we would be most grateful (in fact, if you can help us get Apple to authorise this password removal, I will send you £50 and a crate of beer/cider/wine/fizzy pop of your choice) Thanks ever so much! Alex

Got a Dell Laptop from a Car Boot Sale for buttons, but it's password protected. I can't even start it in Safe Mode or Boot Options without Admin Password. Is there a way I can bypass it without paying for software? OS is Vista Home Basic. Thanks.

Anyone like to express a view on password managers - what is best/easiest/best value etc etc etc. Ta

A really great .pdf document about Passwords, and well worth the read. Full Article

Hi all. Im on JSA. Was asked to make UJM account to search for work and make log, all is good. Last time i was in the JCP to sign my coach has told me that i MUST bring in my user name and password so they can access my account. I previously gave them my email for the account so they can check im doing my bit as per job seeker agreement which i have no problem with at all. This request for username and password is not wrote on my most recent JSA agreement i note! Its just, im not sure they should be asking for my username and password. I thought that was private? my password I have this coach recorded saying this in audio file also as i dot trust DWP at all due to the things happened in past. Should i ignore this request? To me it just sounds wrong but i dont want a benefit sanction. TIA

Ebay has asked users to change their passwords following a cyberattack that compromised one of its databases. The auction site said that the database contained encrypted passwords and other non-financial information. The US firm added that it had no evidence of there being unauthorised activity on its members' accounts. However, it said that changing the passwords was "best practice and will help enhance security for eBay users". http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27503290

A friend emailed this...

I lost my password but got it back after digging out a really old backup of my firefox profile. Lucky I had it, only took a few days to find it. The forgotten password link by the login did not work, I tried 5-6 times over the days I was 'lost' and nothing, not in my inbox or junk box. I messaged the site team using the 'contact us' at the bottom but nothing happened there either. Someone might want to check these features still work as I had no luck.

Hi, I am new here. Decided to post my problem because I cannot find any info' at Santander or answers elsewhere. So by posting on here and including words & phrases like characters, symbols, what can I include in my password, what characters are allowed not allowed, how do I create a good Santander password, it may lead others searching to this page. The create / change Password & Security number page at Santander on-line banking does not explain what can be used to create a password of 6 - 20 'Characters'. It says characters but I believe it means letters & numbers. I found their help / FAQ that talked about Passcodes of 8 - 16 characters & Registration number that I presume was the intended info'. Why don't Santander clearly explain this critical process? I have included the email I sent to their customer services below. Dear Sir, I am writing to you because I am finding it difficult to create my on-line account. I was sent 2 letters. The first had my ID number and a temporary Password, the second had a temporary Security Number. I attempted to set up my account by following the steps on your web site. It would not accept the password I wanted to use and gave no explanation as to what characters were allowed. I had used some characters like * or $. I then searched your site to see if there was a clear description of what characters could not be used. No where on the choosing new password page, did it say to use letters & numbers only. The term character is described as 'A mark or symbol used in a writing system' in the dictionary and your page says 'use (6 - 20 characters)'. After much googling the web & searching your site I only found this page with any reference to my problem - (not allowed to post link due to forum rules) it was in Online Banking Commitment. Under section Changing your security details It referred to changing Passcode & Registration number. It said 'A personal Passcode made up only of letters and digits. It must be between 8 and 16 characters long'. (I hope this doesn't indicate that you store these numbers a 'Plain Text' which could be a security problem) So what does it all mean? My letters & your sign in page refer to' Password' & 'Security' numbers. What is a Passcode ? - do you mean Password or is this a different account? What is a Registration Number ? - do you mean Security Number? What is a Character ? - do you mean letters & numbers/digits. Why does it say 8 - 16 characters? - sign in page says 6 - 20 characters. (see definition of the word character above) All this lack of clarity, use of differing words and length of password in your descriptions is very confusing. It is important that descriptions are consistent and well explained on professional security sites, something that is not apparent at Santander. Please can you explain in plain English which of the above is correct and how passwords should be constructed.

Hi Techies, I have a windows 2008 R2 Machine and for the life of me I do not recall what the password is to log on to the machine. I also do not have the installation disks either. How can I gain access to my unit. Trying hard not to go down the rebuild route. What suggestions or options do I have. Help please.

i have been inundated with calls from moorcroft. the problem is that my phone number has been recycled from the last subscriber and i am getting all the calls for her. as usual despite repeated requests to cease and desist, i get ignored. i have demanded they send me a copy of their complaints procedure by email which i have just received, i then receive another email from moorcroft with a password telling me i need to use it to open up the complaint document. I smell a rat Dear Mr Further to your recent telephone contact please find attached a copy of our response. The attached document is password protected and an email will follow shortly with the relevant password. Should you experience any problems accessing this information, please do not hesitate to contact us via the email address below. Your sincerely Compliance Team Moorcroft Debt Recovery if i try and open the attachment i will get this This file, Account response xxxx.zip, is password protected so it can't be scanned for viruses. We recommend continuing only if you're sure the file is safe. By continuing to download this file you may risk infecting your computer with a virus. To download, click here:

Hello, Tried to log in today, received the following message; However the 'this page' link only takes you back to a page with that link. So I then tried to log out and try to reset my password by the forgot password route, this worked untill I logged in with the new password and got the above message again. Its no big issue as I've managed to set up another account but thought you might want to know. Many thanks.

Hello, I am having problems logging on to the forum. It never seems to recognise my password and I end up having to request a new one each time i log on and then having to change it from the one emailed to me. please can you advise? jacobina