While somewhat costly and like all solutions, not guaranteed to work in every case, this is a good place to start for a robust password recovery application with a good track record. The Kit Standard Plus version (priced at about $200 / £180 / AU$300) can also unlock password managers like LastPass (opens in new tab), 1Password (opens in new tab), Dashlane (opens in new tab), and Keepass (opens in new tab), as well as recent Windows local accounts, server accounts, and Microsoft Live ID accounts.

The cost for this kit is around $50 / £45 / AU$75. The software can grant you quick access to a wide variety of file types, either through brute force attacks or Passware’s “Instant Recovery” method, as well as general Windows passwords. The Basic kit works on Microsoft Windows Vista, and Windows 7/8.x/10/11, as well as on Mac. The Basic, Standard, and Standard Plus kits are all intended for home use, although there are Business and even Forensics solutions available, depending on how difficult the job is. Passware is a leading password recovery software developer that has a success rate of about 70%, which is quite good, considering the task at hand.

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