How to Recover Changed PST Password?

Using password protection for an Outlook PST offers an extra layer to resist undesired intrusion. Once configured, an Outlook user can however also change this password. For this, you can click 'File' menu and then 'Data File Management' to select the desired PST file for resetting the password. You can then select its 'Settings' option, choose 'Change Password' feature and then specify the required details. But in some cases, a saboteur can use this option for its own purposes and make PST data unavailable for an organization. To regain data access in such situations, you can either restore from the last available backup or run some PST Password Recoveryutilities.

The following realistic instance clarifies the above statement of sabotage. Consider an organization with its employees using MS Outlook as their primary e-mail client. Thus all the important e-mail data is stored in respective PST files. As one of the policies of organization, all users maintain a private PST password. All the corresponding passwords are either known to the user or recorded in a confidential database of the organization.

Then one of the users is expelled from his/her services because of some unauthorized practices. But the user resets his/her PST password before leaving the organization in order to disrupt the working. As a result, the organization database of passwords has no record of this changed password. This is one of the typical case of PST data loss because of Lost PST Password.

To perform Password Recovery, following solutions are available:

(1) You can use a free utility called 'pst19upg.exe' to strip off the password. This program is actually meant for upgrading the PST, but this also proves successful in removing the password from an encrypted PST. It is however, suggested to backup the file as running the tool can even corrupt the file.

(2) If 'pst19upg.exe' utility doesn't work, you need a PST Password Recovery utility, which is specifically designed for recovering lost or forgotten password of an Outlook PST. Demo of most of these utilities are available as free on Internet that allow you to asses the capabilities of software.

Stellar Phoenix Outlook Password Recovery is a safe, yet powerful, utility that recovers lost PST password within couple of clicks. The software generates precisely six password for an affected PST. Providing a wizard-style interface, this Password Recovery solution supports MS Outlook 2007, 2003, 2002, and 2000.