Recover password from Logindata file

[benmactavish]

benmactavish last edited by

Hello. I recently had to reset my PC due to some problems. But after that, all my Opera passwords are gone. I searched through google to find that passwords are saved in a Logindata file in the Local App Data folder.

I have found my old passwords file in C:/Windows.old/Users/USER/AppData/Roaming/Opera Software/Opera Stable/Login Data

How can I recover my passwords from that file?

I have Windows 10 Pro Version 1709
Opera version 71.0.3770.284

[sgunhouse]

sgunhouse Moderator Volunteer last edited by

If what you call resetting your computer involves recreating the user account, you are probably out of luck. Opera's secure data is encrypted to the user account, and therefore can't be recovered if the account was changed (even if you chose the same username and password).

[benmactavish]

benmactavish @sgunhouse last edited by

@sgunhouse Hello, thanks for the fast reply.

I don't know if the reset recreated the user account, but I didn't manually create a new one after resetting so I think it is the same (Username: USER and no password)

Is there anything I could try?

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer @benmactavish last edited by This post is deleted!

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer @benmactavish last edited by

@benmactavish The OS was reinstalled, that's why you can't access your saved passwords.

[blackbird71]

blackbird71 @benmactavish last edited by

@benmactavish When you reinstall Windows, its crytographic service generates a new random key unique for the machine and removes all traces of any old key. The new key is combined with another fresh, unique Windows-generated key for each newly-created user account to prevent cross-account and cross-machine access to sensitive "compartmented" information. Opera also uses those combined keys for auto-encrypting their password store. Hence any reinstall of Windows or any recreating of a user account will cause new access keys to be generated and used for Opera's password store in that account and the old keys discarded, making automatic access to the "old" password file impossible. Lacking auto-access, one would be left with trying to manually crack the original encrytion of the old password file without having the original key, a virtually impossible task.

OVer the years, I've found it critically important to keep all my significant passwords saved/backed-up in an independent location, off the computer and in a form that I know I can readily access. Some folks use the cloud via password software (for convenience), some use paper (for added security).

[leocg]

leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by

One thing you can do from now on is to periodically export your saved passwords and keep the generated file in a safe place.

Other is to try to set a pattern for your passwords, so that you can remember them when you need.

[benmactavish]

benmactavish last edited by

Thanks for the help., everyone!