View Password hash in Active Directory

Question

Hi all
I am the administrator and i want to view the password hashes of the users  in Active Directory. Please tell me how i can view the password hashes of the users. Where are the password hashes of the users  stored in Active Directory.

Answer 1

Hi,
Before going further, let’s clarify how Windows store password.
Instead of storing the user account password in clear-text, Windows generates and stores user account passwords by using two different password representations, generally known as "hashes." When you set or change the password for a user account to a password that contains fewer than 15 characters, Windows generates both a LAN Manager hash (LM hash) and a Windows NT hash (NT hash) of the password. These hashes are stored in the local Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database (C:\Windows\System32\config\SAM file) or in Active Directory (C:\Windows\NTDS\ntds.dit file on DCs).
You can force Windows to use NT Hash password. For detailed information, please refer to the following article.
How to prevent Windows from storing a LAN manager hash of your password in Active Directory and local SAM databases
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299656
After you configure Password History, Active Directory service will check the password hash stored in AD database to determine if user meet the requirement. Administrator doesn’t need to view or use password hash.
Regarding the security of password, the following article may be helpful.
Should you worry about password cracking?
http://blogs.technet.com/jesper_johansson/archive/2005/10/13/410470.aspx
Hope this information can be helpful.
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