My Mac Admin Password Is Not Working Hacked

admin

Image credit: Apple

In the early years of OS X, the Mac operating system was sold on a DVD. If a user forgot the administrator password, perhaps the simplest way (of several) would be to use that disc to set a new administrator password and regain control of the Mac. Nowadays, there is no install disc provided with OS X, and so an alternative method is necessary.

Mar 06, 2020  WD SmartWare does not offer a direct download link for Mac users but you can find all software offered for Mac on their website under Software for Mac. The software also supports My Cloud, WD Cloud, My Cloud Mirror Gen2, My Cloud Mirror, My Cloud PR2100, My Cloud PR4100, My Cloud EX2 Ultra, My Cloud EX2, My Cloud EX4, My Cloud EX2100, My Cloud. Aug 22, 2016  1 # Can I Tell If My Mac Has Been Hacked. To determine if your mac has been already hacked by hackers you have to know if things. First of all, you've to spot some sign of possible hacking. You'll have to consider whether anything out of the usual is happening on your notebook. You know how your computer runs better than anyone else. Jan 15, 2020  1Password is good, but there are many others to choose from, including LastPass, Dashlane, and mSecure.If you want to find more password management options, open the Mac App Store and search for the word password.If any of the apps look interesting, check the manufacturer's website.

___________________

To be clear, there are several technical ways to reset the administrator password on a Mac. Some of them are rather Unix-geeky and can make a novice user nervous. For the sake of completeness, I'll reference those methods at the end of this article. For now, we'll start with the easy ones.

I. Use Your Apple ID

When you first set up your Mac or upgraded the OS, The Setup Assistant will ask if you want to allow your Apple ID to reset the user (admin) password. If you did that, the box in System Preferences > Users & Groups was set. See below.

System Preferences > Users & Groups

Now, assuming you've forgotten your password, according to Apple...

If you incorrectly enter your account password at the login window three times, a message appears stating 'If you forgot your password, you can reset it using your Apple ID'. Click the arrow-in-a-circle icon to bring up the 'Reset Password' dialog. Enter your Apple ID and password, then click 'Reset Password' to proceed.

However, if you deselected that box, and later forgot your password, you're out of luck. One reason to deselect the box is extreme security. If, heaven forbid, Apple's system is hacked, your admin password could be compromised. On to the next technique.

II. Use Another Administrator Account

My Mac Admin Password Is Not Working Hacked Iphone

One administrator has the power to reset the password of another administrator. If you've previously set up your Mac with two administrator accounts, highly recommended, you can use the second admin account to login in and reset the password for the first administrator whose password has been forgotten. If you can't do that, on to the next technique.

III. Recovery Partition

If the techniques above aren't available, a very neat, simple way to reset the administrator password is to make use of the OS X Recovery Partition. This is a hidden partition on your boot drive introduced with OS X 10.7 Lion, so the technique I'll describe works with OS X 10.7 Lion, 10.8 Mountain Lion, OS X 10.9 Mavericks and OS X 10.10 Yosemite.

(The older method, mentioned in the introduction above, uses the install disc for OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and previous. It's discussed in this Apple support article # PH6317. It's no longer being updated by Apple, but if you're still using Snow Leopard or older, it still works.)

As a reminder, the person who first installed OS X on a Mac (or set it up out of the box) is the administrator. In this scenario, it's assumed that the administrator is you, and you know your account name but forgot the password.

My Mac Admin Password Is Not Working Hacked

Procedure

1. Restart the Mac.

If it's locked up,see:'Frozen: How to Force the Restart of a Mac.'

2. Right after you hear the chime, press and hold the Command and the R keys for a few seconds, then release. Soon, you'll see the Apple logo and spinning gear (or progress bar in Yosemite).

This will force the Mac to boot into OS X on the Recovery Partition that was created when you installed OS X 10.7 or later.

3. When booting is complete, you'll see a window of 'OS X Utilities.' You won't do anything there. Instead, you'll go to the Menu bar at the top and select Utilities > Terminal.

What you see after booting into Recovery Partition.

Don't worry. You won't have to do anything exotic on the Unix command line.

4. In the terminal window type the following and hit Return.

5. A new window will open, like this:

What you'll see after you enter 'resetpassword'

Click on the 1) volume of interest, 2) select the desired user account name in the popup. Then enter the new password (twice). A password hint is optional. Click 'Save.'

6. Go back to the Apple Menu at the top. Select OS X Utilities > Quit OS X Utilities. That will prompt you to restart the Mac.

If all went well, when the Mac restarts normally, you'll be able to log in to the administrator account with the new password you defined in step #5 above. From there you can manage the rest of of the users if necessary with System Preferences > Users & Groups.

IV. Keychain Reset

The OS X Keychain is where all your passwords are kept securely. If you forget your password, you no longer have access to that Keychain. As a result, when you log back in, you'll be asked to reset your Keychain. A new one will be created and unlocked with your new password. Because of that, you'll find yourself re-entering all the passwords that were stored in your old, now inaccessible Keychain. See Apple support article # PH18681.

V. Apple Support Articles

VI. References

For the more experienced user who may want to explore and learn, there is much more material available on resetting OS X passwords. Some of these other techniques are not as simple and should be practiced on a non-mission critical Mac, being mindful of their context and applicability.

Finally, if you run into a problem and can't navigate your way out, one thing to try is to contact an Apple retail store nearby. Make an appointment with an Apple Genius, and you'll get the help you need.

Note: Before your take your Mac into an Apple store for any repair or procedure, make sure you've made a Time Machine backup.

Alternatively, you can check the Apple Consultants Network.

Due to the robust security within Apple’s new macOS operating system, there is a high emphasis on data protection. Whether you’re simply logging in, downloading new software, or trying to delete files or apps from the hard drive, you will always need to input your Mac password. Here are a few ways you can remember or reset it and get back to using your Mac.

How to avoid forgetting passwords?

Often when Mac users forget their passwords, it’s the consequence of having a cluttered Mac. With an overload of information to sieve through every day, people have a tendency to forget information. So, first and foremost, you should clean up your Mac to make sure your new password is the one entering you into a tidy and organised computer.

With CleanMyMac X, you can remove large and unwanted files, organising your digital folders and clearing your physical headspace. With its smart, one-click cleaning approach and powerful scanning, you can swiftly dispose of useless documents and apps which may even be slowing your Mac down. With CleanMyMac, you can launch a Smart Scan, removing systems junk, photo and file duplicates, and everything else that will clog up your Mac.

In addition, this amazing tool is free to download, so what are you waiting for?

How to reset a password

Get a password hint

Before resetting your password, you should always check to see if the password hint jogs your memory. The ‘hint’ is a phrase you entered relating to the password when you first set it up, and is triggered once you make 3 incorrect password attempts:

  1. Open System Preferences (the app with the cog icon).
  2. Select ‘Users & Groups.’
  3. Click the Lock icon in the bottom left to make changes.
  4. Press the Return key 3 times.

The screen will shake each time you press Return, with the third shake generating the password hint which will appear below the Password field. Hopefully this initiates a Eureka Moment making you remember the Login and brings an end to the password perils.

Sometimes though, the hint doesn’t show up. That’s because the Mac wasn’t set up to show password hints in the Login Options – only modified by logging into your Mac. Fortunately, there are an array of other solutions to finding your password.

Change password from another account

In the event that you happen to share your Mac with another person, and they have their own account, you can use their Login to reset your password. Or, if you have a different account on the Mac that you know the password to, you can recover your Mac admin password by following these steps:

  1. Click on the Apple logo in the top left of the tools bar and click Log Out.
  2. Select the alternative account and enter the password.
  3. Open System Preferences > Users & Groups.
  4. Click the Lock icon in the bottom left.
  5. Enter the password again.
  6. In the Sidebar, select the account with the missing password.
  7. Click change password.
  8. Fill in the New Password, Verify and Password Hint fields.
  9. Click Change Password.

Now, the password for that account has been changed, allowing you to log in using the new password. However, this doesn’t change the password for the Keychain (macOS’s password management system), and you’ll be asked when you log into the account to update the keychain password. This requires you to enter the old forgotten password, so you’ll have to click ‘Create New Keychain’.

This introduces a further problem, because if the other user isn’t the registered Admin, they won’t be able to change the password for you. Luckily, there is an alternative solution to recovering your password.

Use Recovery Mode

Apple provides a tool to replace a Mac’s password through bypassing all of the previous steps. This is the best option if you don’t have a password hint, can’t log in via another account and have completely forgotten your password.

  1. Turn off your Mac.
  2. Press the power button whilst holding Command + R.
  3. The Mac will boot into Recovery Mode – when you see the load bar appear you can let go of the keys.
  4. Select ‘Disk Utility’ and press Continue.
  5. Go to Utilities > Terminal.
  6. Enter ‘resetpassword’ and press the Return key.
  7. Select the main hard drive.
  8. Select the User Account (the account you’d like to change).
  9. Enter a new password and create a password hint.
  10. Click Save – a warning will appear that the Keychain Password hasn’t changed. Click OK.
  11. Shut Down your Mac and start it up again. Now you can log in using the new password.
Hacked

Protect Your Data

Due to the fact Recovery Mode provides a nifty means to resetting the Mac password, you may be wary that anyone can hack your Mac – and once someone accesses your Mac, you’ve usually lost control over it. So, it’s a good job there’s some interventions you can make to prevent this happening.

The best way to protect your data is to active FileVault encryption. This means that the Password Reset option won’t become available unless you unlock it with Disk Utility. To turn it on and set it up:

  1. Choose Apple > System Preferences > Security & Privacy.
  2. Click the FileVault tab.
  3. Click the Lock icon, and enter Login credentials.
  4. Click Turn on FileVault.

Once done, you will receive a Recovery Key and a password, which you should take note of. If you lose these, your data won’t be able to be recovered and will be lost forever.

My Mac Admin Password Is Not Working Hacked

My Mac Admin Password Is Not Working Hacked Account

Another effective way to protect the data on your Mac is to download tried and tested app CleanMyMac X. With automatic clean-ups and regular system monitors, your data is continuously observed and safeguarded from any piracy or hacking.

Use Target Disk Mode

If all else fails, Target Disk Mode can help you recover whatever you can from the lost Mac. Using another Mac, you can access the hard drive on the lost Mac and save any wanted data.

  1. Shut down the Mac.
  2. Connect to another Mac using a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable.
  3. Start up your Mac and hold the T key while it loads.
  4. This activates Target Disk Mode.

The hard drive from the lost Mac should now appear, allowing you to recover and save wanted data onto the new Mac.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned!

These might also interest you: