The fine folks over at passwordrecoverytools.com sent a request for an evaluation about four months ago, and as I was ensconced in a plethora of security work and programming, I never had a chance to test the tool for a good writeup. That was, until I decided to go on vacation last week and a client sent a password protected zip file without forwarding the password! That same client has decided that since I am on vacation, that my emails are not worth responding to! Hmmm…. Hahhhh! (small bellows of smoke roll out from the ears)
Well, the password was recovered in all of ten minutes. Five minutes to boot up Parallels (only have my Mac here) and install Accent Zip Password Recovery, and another five minutes to figure out the program.
Overall, the program works fast and as interfaces go, fairly intuitive. I am going to definitely give this tool another run when I find a client relying on WinZip passwords for file transfer. Also, there are many other password recovery tools at the same site for MS Office (including individual licenses for Excel and Word), MS Access, and MS Money – all a good tool chest for a security auditor that wants to prove a point about the reliability of these built-in password mechanisms. Although I did not have to use it, the advanced dictionary features on this software make it even more useful for security testing. As a security testing professional, any password tool does not pass the muster without custom dictionary capability.