PST Password Bugs and Recovery

In Microsoft Outlook with IMAP or POP3 account, all emails are downloaded to a locally stored file called PST. To prevent their unauthorized access, Outlook allows you to protect the file using password protection. This may prove an infalible way for data privacy, but actually a PST password is not safe. Though there are several Outlook password Recovery solutions available for PST to help when you lose or forget this password, the PST password protection can be broken.

The way PST password is saved suffers from two major bugs, described underneath:

1-Same CRC Value: The PST password is not saved in the file itself, instead Outlook uses a 32-bit hash value to represent it. To generate this value, Outlook uses CRC32 algorithm (though with some minor changes), which is comparatively weaker than its other counterparts. Now, for each 32-bit number, one can have a lots of matching values that work as a PST password. Thus, you can open the password-protected PST using the same CRC value.
2-Null Password: As described, Outlook uses 32-bit value to represent the PST password. But if this value equals to 0, one can easily open the apparently password-protected PST without actually typing any password. In other words, if the CRC value of your password matches to zero value, there is no need that you specify a password to open it. Some examples of such passwords are tHPuT3, pLMtUP, 5kfzQx etc.

Despite the above facts, there is no alternative to recover a lost or forgotten PST password. There are several instances when you may lose the password for your password-protected file. For example, you save your PST password in a file and store it on your system hard disk. Later, you delete the file accidentally and as a result, you lose the password.

PST Password Recovery tools allow you to recover such lost passwords. These are scanning-based utilities built with safe algorithms to provide password recovery for your PST. Outlook Password Recovery solutions are graphically rich applications that come embedded with advanced options. The software are easy to install and use.

Stellar Phoenix Outlook Password Recovery v1.1 is an advanced utility that recovers lost or forgotten PST passwords with no hassle. The safe Outlook Password Recovery tool supports Outlook 2007, 2003, 2002 and 2000. The comprehensive software gives you self-explanatory interface. The tool doesn't require any prior technical understanding to implement it.