Registry Answers March 15, 2004 - Issue 5 This was composed using simple html with Arial point 10 font and is best viewed in html format. If anyone has any problems reading this, please let me know. Todays question deals with AutoComplete passwords in Internet Explorer only (not other AutoComplete passwords - such as those in Outlook or Outlook Express which are controlled differently) Note that most sites use cookies to remember you. Autocomplete, on the other hand does not depend on any cookies. AutoComplete is 100% REGISTRY controlled.. *** Internet Explorer - Web Login AutoComplete Passwords Question:: I'm using Internet Explorer and usually when I login in to a new site, I get a popup box asking if I want Windows to remember my password.. I usually answer Yes, but on one site I mistakenly clicked No, and now I don't get asked anymore. Is there any way to make Windows ask me again? Is there some place these passwords are stored? Answer: To be clear, the dialog box we are talking about here is the one that states: "Do you want Windows to remember this password so that you won't have to type it again next time you visit this page?" Also on the box is a checkbox : "Don't offer to remember anymore passwords" (which is to disable the appearance of the dialogue box completely) If you answer NO to having your password remembered at a certain site, you will have to enter it each time you login to that site, and you will not be prompted to save it again. So what to do if you click NO and change your mind later In most cases you can get the box back easily - without having to enter the registry - by simply removing the particular user name from the login form. Just double-click inside the form field where you normally enter your user name. This will bring up a dropdown list showing all your saved AutoComplete user names. Point (not click) to the one you want to remove, so that it is highlighted, and then hit the Delete key. Once gone, login in again. You should now get the prompt back asking you if you want Windows to remember your password. Registry Settings If that doesn't work, then it's time to explore the registry and delete the password there. First, you should realize that all of this involves the registry whether you know it or not. For example, if you check the box "Don't offer to remember anymore passwords" and then change your mind, all you have to do to get it back is open Internet Explorer and click: Tools>Internet Options>Content>AutoComplete There you will see the option: "Prompt Me to Save Passwords" and simply checking it will bring the prompt back at most web logins No sign of registry involvement there at all, but in fact, what you are really doing when you make that choice is editing this string value in the registry: "FormSuggest PW Ask" When you check the box, you are setting it to YES: "FormSuggest PW Ask"="yes" If you uncheck the box, you are setting the value to NO "FormSuggest PW Ask"="no" and you will never be prompted to save your password ever. The main key that holds this value is here: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main Just look in the right hand pane for the value "FormSuggest PW Ask" which will be set to either yes or no. If you prefer you can manually change the value right there rather than via Internet Explorer by just double clicking the value and changing it to yes or no yourself. This value can even be deleted. It will get recreated next time a choice is made in IE or at the prompt. Passwords So what happens when you click Yes to have your password remembered? Again, a registry change occurs. The password is stored at the SPW key (which stands for Saved PassWords). The location is here: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IntelliForms\SPW In the right hand pane of the SPW key you will see all your saved AutoComplete controlled passwords.. However, you won't recognize them because they are encrypted, looking something like this: "7*J9PQR+U,?@6?Q"=dword:00000000 "97KTG3U[J:N+CBA"=dword:00000000 Secret - encrypted passwords and autocomplete info can be easily decrypted by using special password revealing utilities like Advanced Password Recovery for IE, IE Password Revealer, and others. If the non registry method doesn't work to get a lost prompt back, you can try manually deleting the password associated with the particular login giving you the problem, but chances are you have more than just a few passwords stored there so you can't really tell which one is which. In that case, the most obvious and easiest way would be to to delete all the encrypted passwords but if you have a lot of them and dread the thought of having to enter your passwords again at each site where you previously used to login to automatically, then the best way is to back them up first, then delete them like this: 1. Select the SPW key, click File>Export and then save it as a reg file (ie spw.reg) to your desktop or wherever you find convenient. 2. Once exported, right click the SPW key in the registry and choose Delete. 3. Login to the site that was your problem and enter your user name/password. This time the dialog box will come up and you can choose Yes to remembering your password. 4. Double click the reg export you made to merge it back into the registry. Done! But it was "NO"- do NOT remember my password, that I mistakenly checked! Secret - it makes no difference whether you chose YES or NO. Your password is saved at the SPW key regardless of your choice. Saving your password is not the same as remembering it to Windows. When you click NO, the password has to exist so that Windows will know what action to take with it (offer to remember it or not) To remember or not remember is controlled by more complex binary values hidden deep under the Protected Storage.. key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider where all your AutoComplete info is held and though it is possible to hack these values, it is not something you can just turn on or off with a simple yes or no. If anyone is interested to know more about this, you can send an email to the feedback address below and the request will be considered. vic **** For other Windows tips, you may also want to subscribe to my Wintips&Tricks newsletter. More info here: http://www.angelfire.com/va3/wintips/ If you are new to registry editing and find all this confusing, then I suggest Registry for Newbies which is the best newbie ebook for learning the registry from ground up in plain english http://newbieclub.com/rfncopy/?vic Have feedback, a question or tip you would like to have considered for submission? Send it to: regtips@xxxxxxxxxx?Subject=feedback If this was forwarded to you and you would like to subscribe to Registry Answers, click here and hit Send regtips-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=subscribe To unsubscribe, click here and hit Send regtips-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=unsubscribe