Second Life Forums Archive - AIM Password Suckiness

Darwin Appleby

I Was Beaten With Satan

Join date: 14 Mar 2003

Posts: 2,779

12-17-2003 17:34

Alright, here's the situation: I have this AIM account with a ton of my buddies on it, but then I change ISPs, my email address going with it. While I'm at it, I change my screenname. Now I want to recover some buddies from the old screenname that I can't remember, but I can't remember the password. I can't email myself the password because the address no longer exists.

What do I do?! Should I crack it? If so, any good, free cracking progs? If not, WHAT?!

_____________________

Touche.

Julia Curie

Senior Member

Join date: 1 Nov 2003

Posts: 298

12-18-2003 07:10

AOL = tH3 SuX

Darwin Appleby

I Was Beaten With Satan

Join date: 14 Mar 2003

Posts: 2,779

12-18-2003 08:06

I hate AOL too, I just use AIM because every freaking aquaintence and his mother uses it.

_____________________

Touche.

Darwin Appleby

I Was Beaten With Satan

Join date: 14 Mar 2003

Posts: 2,779

12-18-2003 17:39

Bump-o-roo.

Anyone?

_____________________

Touche.

Chip Midnight

ate my baby!

Join date: 1 May 2003

Posts: 10,231

12-18-2003 18:30

I think you might be SOL Darwin

_____________________

My other hobby:
www.live365.com/stations/chip_midnight

Darwin Appleby

I Was Beaten With Satan

Join date: 14 Mar 2003

Posts: 2,779

12-18-2003 18:32

I can always brute force the pssw. Anyone know any good progs for the purpose?

_____________________

Touche.

Dan Rhodes

hehe

Join date: 5 Jul 2003

Posts: 268

12-18-2003 18:37

haha you could always call your old ISP , I work for an ISP and sometimes that happens and we actually reopen their mail account temporarily or we forward the email to another address for a period of time even with the account being closed.

I'm not familiar with calling AOL and if they'd provide support for a free program like AIM but who knows.

You could also talk to your ISP and find out if they offer email only accounts for a discounted price .. just depends on how desperate you are about these missing buddies ..

I say forget it and just make some new friends.

Darwin Appleby

I Was Beaten With Satan

Join date: 14 Mar 2003

Posts: 2,779

12-18-2003 19:36

lol Dan, done and done on both of those ideas. *sigh*

SOL

_____________________

Touche.

Carnildo Greenacre

Flight Engineer

Join date: 15 Nov 2003

Posts: 1,044

12-18-2003 23:10

I don't know how or where AIM stores passwords, but if it saves your password, you can dig it out, and set a password cracker like John the Ripper to work trying to decode it -- assuming you can figure out how they encoded the password.

I'm sure someone knows how to crack AIM accounts. Try looking around online.

_____________________

perl -le '$_ = 1; (1 x $_) !~ /^(11+)\1+$/ && print while $_++;'

Misnomer Jones

3 is the magic number

Join date: 27 Jan 2003

Posts: 1,800

12-18-2003 23:21

isnt your buddy list saved on your HD? I think I recall this being true. Look around and import it from there if you can.

edit:

I just checked my system. I dont use straight aim anymore. I use Trillian. With that I can have Y!, AIM, MSN and ICQ all open at once in one window.
Anyway, I have a folder within it that has all my AIM buddys. I think you may have it on your HD under aim then user.

_____________________

Dave Zeeman

Master Procrastinator

Join date: 28 Jan 2003

Posts: 1,025

12-18-2003 23:25

Misnomer, it used to be stored on your computer, but AIM now works off of a central database.

_____________________

llToggleDaveZeemanIntelligence(FALSE);
Philip Linden: Zeeman, strip off the suit!
Dave Zeeman - Keeping Lindens on their toes since v0.3.2!

Misnomer Jones

3 is the magic number

Join date: 27 Jan 2003

Posts: 1,800

12-18-2003 23:28

bummer. I guess I have mine since I use an alt program.

_____________________

Garoad Kuroda

Prophet of Muppetry

Join date: 5 Sep 2003

Posts: 2,989

12-23-2003 17:57

I don't understand why the password isn't still saved, making a new user account shouldn't make you have to type it in again when you change back to the old account (on my version anyway).

If it's stored locally on your computer you could probably do a search for the "password1" key in your registry (stored in the Login folder with the AIM entries) and just copy the entry to wherever it needs to be. It'll be encrypted but that shouldn't matter. But if it's asking you for a password that implies that it's not stored locally anymore to begin with...

It's easy to find the login information in your registry (probably varies with version) but I'm guessing it's not all there in the first place or there wouldn't be a problem.

Did you also re/uninstall AIM or something? Either I'm missing something or this isn't adding up right.

Chip Midnight

ate my baby!

Join date: 1 May 2003

Posts: 10,231

12-23-2003 21:19

Darwin, look on your C drive under the "documents and settings" folder, then under one of the computer user names there will be a "application data" foler (hidden folder so you'll have to set your view to show hidden files and folders). In one of them is an AIM folder with subfolders for each aim screen name. From there you should be able to figure out what to copy over.

Might not help if you never chose to store the password locally so you don't have to type it in every time (didn't think of that before).

_____________________

My other hobby:
www.live365.com/stations/chip_midnight

Darwin Appleby

I Was Beaten With Satan

Join date: 14 Mar 2003

Posts: 2,779

12-24-2003 08:43

GRR not there

_____________________

Touche.

Garoad Kuroda

Prophet of Muppetry

Join date: 5 Sep 2003

Posts: 2,989

12-24-2003 23:39

That might vary across different versions, I know the version I have stores that kind of stuff in the registry. And I don't think my version has the subfolders you mention.

But I'm still confused as to why the password isn't saved if it was always set to "remember" it. Run regedit, click on HKEY_CURRENT_USER and do a find for AIM, if it's the same version I have then you should be able to find a "Users" folder right nearby which would have the folders (for each username) that contain the saved passwords.... if it wasn't deleted! If it's there it'll be encrypted, though. (But stranger, if it's there...it's just not being used...)

Pete Fats

Geek

Join date: 18 Apr 2003

Posts: 648

12-26-2003 12:26

Hijack the domain of your old ISP and change the MX records

Garoad Kuroda

Prophet of Muppetry

Join date: 5 Sep 2003

Posts: 2,989

12-26-2003 17:09

It's probably not stored locally anymore, which means the only way to get the password back is by use of "questionable" means. heh...

But at least you have a good excuse to brute force the password.

Mars Zircon

Junior Member

Join date: 8 Dec 2003

Posts: 10

12-27-2003 20:26

Ya can't brute force an AIM password because the OSCAR/TOC server will put a temp ban on your IP if you have too many failed logins in a given period of time.

Garoad Kuroda

Prophet of Muppetry

Join date: 5 Sep 2003

Posts: 2,989

12-28-2003 02:01

Good excuse to *attempt* (and fail) to brute force the password, then...

Ghoulie Skallagrimson

Member

Join date: 22 Nov 2003

Posts: 37

12-28-2003 04:59

I wish I had advice to offer... my mom's having the same problem. I hope you find a solution soon.

AIM Password Suckiness
Darwin Appleby I Was Beaten With Satan Join date: 14 Mar 2003 Posts: 2,779	12-17-2003 17:34 Alright, here's the situation: I have this AIM account with a ton of my buddies on it, but then I change ISPs, my email address going with it. While I'm at it, I change my screenname. Now I want to recover some buddies from the old screenname that I can't remember, but I can't remember the password. I can't email myself the password because the address no longer exists. What do I do?! Should I crack it? If so, any good, free cracking progs? If not, WHAT?! _____________________ Touche.
Julia Curie Senior Member Join date: 1 Nov 2003 Posts: 298	12-18-2003 07:10 AOL = tH3 SuX
Darwin Appleby I Was Beaten With Satan Join date: 14 Mar 2003 Posts: 2,779	12-18-2003 08:06 I hate AOL too, I just use AIM because every freaking aquaintence and his mother uses it. _____________________ Touche.
Darwin Appleby I Was Beaten With Satan Join date: 14 Mar 2003 Posts: 2,779	12-18-2003 17:39 Bump-o-roo. Anyone? _____________________ Touche.
Chip Midnight ate my baby! Join date: 1 May 2003 Posts: 10,231	12-18-2003 18:30 I think you might be SOL Darwin _____________________ My other hobby: www.live365.com/stations/chip_midnight
Darwin Appleby I Was Beaten With Satan Join date: 14 Mar 2003 Posts: 2,779	12-18-2003 18:32 I can always brute force the pssw. Anyone know any good progs for the purpose? _____________________ Touche.
Dan Rhodes hehe Join date: 5 Jul 2003 Posts: 268	12-18-2003 18:37 haha you could always call your old ISP , I work for an ISP and sometimes that happens and we actually reopen their mail account temporarily or we forward the email to another address for a period of time even with the account being closed. I'm not familiar with calling AOL and if they'd provide support for a free program like AIM but who knows. You could also talk to your ISP and find out if they offer email only accounts for a discounted price .. just depends on how desperate you are about these missing buddies .. I say forget it and just make some new friends.
Darwin Appleby I Was Beaten With Satan Join date: 14 Mar 2003 Posts: 2,779	12-18-2003 19:36 lol Dan, done and done on both of those ideas. sigh SOL _____________________ Touche.
Carnildo Greenacre Flight Engineer Join date: 15 Nov 2003 Posts: 1,044	12-18-2003 23:10 I don't know how or where AIM stores passwords, but if it saves your password, you can dig it out, and set a password cracker like John the Ripper to work trying to decode it -- assuming you can figure out how they encoded the password. I'm sure someone knows how to crack AIM accounts. Try looking around online. _____________________ perl -le '$_ = 1; (1 x $_) !~ /^(11+)\1+$/ && print while $_++;'
Misnomer Jones 3 is the magic number Join date: 27 Jan 2003 Posts: 1,800	12-18-2003 23:21 isnt your buddy list saved on your HD? I think I recall this being true. Look around and import it from there if you can. edit: I just checked my system. I dont use straight aim anymore. I use Trillian. With that I can have Y!, AIM, MSN and ICQ all open at once in one window. Anyway, I have a folder within it that has all my AIM buddys. I think you may have it on your HD under aim then user. _____________________
Dave Zeeman Master Procrastinator Join date: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 1,025	12-18-2003 23:25 Misnomer, it used to be stored on your computer, but AIM now works off of a central database. _____________________ llToggleDaveZeemanIntelligence(FALSE); Philip Linden: Zeeman, strip off the suit! Dave Zeeman - Keeping Lindens on their toes since v0.3.2!
Misnomer Jones 3 is the magic number Join date: 27 Jan 2003 Posts: 1,800	12-18-2003 23:28 bummer. I guess I have mine since I use an alt program. _____________________
Garoad Kuroda Prophet of Muppetry Join date: 5 Sep 2003 Posts: 2,989	12-23-2003 17:57 I don't understand why the password isn't still saved, making a new user account shouldn't make you have to type it in again when you change back to the old account (on my version anyway). If it's stored locally on your computer you could probably do a search for the "password1" key in your registry (stored in the Login folder with the AIM entries) and just copy the entry to wherever it needs to be. It'll be encrypted but that shouldn't matter. But if it's asking you for a password that implies that it's not stored locally anymore to begin with... It's easy to find the login information in your registry (probably varies with version) but I'm guessing it's not all there in the first place or there wouldn't be a problem. Did you also re/uninstall AIM or something? Either I'm missing something or this isn't adding up right.
Chip Midnight ate my baby! Join date: 1 May 2003 Posts: 10,231	12-23-2003 21:19 Darwin, look on your C drive under the "documents and settings" folder, then under one of the computer user names there will be a "application data" foler (hidden folder so you'll have to set your view to show hidden files and folders). In one of them is an AIM folder with subfolders for each aim screen name. From there you should be able to figure out what to copy over. Might not help if you never chose to store the password locally so you don't have to type it in every time (didn't think of that before). _____________________ My other hobby: www.live365.com/stations/chip_midnight
Darwin Appleby I Was Beaten With Satan Join date: 14 Mar 2003 Posts: 2,779	12-24-2003 08:43 GRR not there _____________________ Touche.
Garoad Kuroda Prophet of Muppetry Join date: 5 Sep 2003 Posts: 2,989	12-24-2003 23:39 That might vary across different versions, I know the version I have stores that kind of stuff in the registry. And I don't think my version has the subfolders you mention. But I'm still confused as to why the password isn't saved if it was always set to "remember" it. Run regedit, click on HKEY_CURRENT_USER and do a find for AIM, if it's the same version I have then you should be able to find a "Users" folder right nearby which would have the folders (for each username) that contain the saved passwords.... if it wasn't deleted! If it's there it'll be encrypted, though. (But stranger, if it's there...it's just not being used...)
Pete Fats Geek Join date: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 648	12-26-2003 12:26 Hijack the domain of your old ISP and change the MX records
Garoad Kuroda Prophet of Muppetry Join date: 5 Sep 2003 Posts: 2,989	12-26-2003 17:09 It's probably not stored locally anymore, which means the only way to get the password back is by use of "questionable" means. heh... But at least you have a good excuse to brute force the password.
Mars Zircon Junior Member Join date: 8 Dec 2003 Posts: 10	12-27-2003 20:26 Ya can't brute force an AIM password because the OSCAR/TOC server will put a temp ban on your IP if you have too many failed logins in a given period of time.
Garoad Kuroda Prophet of Muppetry Join date: 5 Sep 2003 Posts: 2,989	12-28-2003 02:01 Good excuse to attempt (and fail) to brute force the password, then...
Ghoulie Skallagrimson Member Join date: 22 Nov 2003 Posts: 37	12-28-2003 04:59 I wish I had advice to offer... my mom's having the same problem. I hope you find a solution soon.

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AIM Password Suckiness