It is immaculate when you want to compress many files into a single file. Accordingly, we always need to secure our RAR archives with a strong password to avoid unwanted persons to open it and access the files. But if you forgot RAR password or someone sends an encrypted RAR file to you without the password, what are you to do?
Gladly, there are useful methods out there that can help resolve this issue. There are some specific commands and password recovery tools that can securely decrypt a password-protected RAR file without losing any vital data.
Way 1. Recover RAR Password with Notepad/CMD
This is a free and easy way to recover the forgot RAR password as the tool is available for everybody to use on Windows without installing a package or visiting a website.
You simply have to input a few commands in Notepad and run it, and you will likely discover RAR password. Do note that the result is effective regardless if you do or do not know anything about the forgot RAR password. To do this...
1. Input commands in a new Notepad and save it as rar-password.bat.
2. Double-tap the bat file and open a CMD window.
3. Now, define the name of the RAR file and hit Enter to also define its path.
4. Here, you have to go to the properties of the RAR file to get its name and path; then, input them in the suitable area in the CMD window.
5. Hit Enter once again in the CMD window to recover the password of the defined RAR archive.
6. When you hit Enter, the commands in the bat file will run underneath to recover the forgot RAR password.
Way 2. Unlock RAR Password with Third-party Software
Well, there is a number of third-party software that you can use to unlock forgot RAR password. But since the market is flooded with numerous apps, we tested many and found out PassFab for RAR to have the best efficiency.
You can use the PassFab for RAR to locate the forgotten password and then open the encrypted file. This RAR password recovery tool will assist you with recovering your RAR password swiftly and it is simple, safe, and causes zero damages to your compressed files.
One unique feature of this tool is that it works with RAR files that were created with WinRAR, RAR, or any other similar software. PassFab for RAR uses innovative search algorithm and propelled SSE technology. Additionally, the tool makes use of ATI OpenCL GPUs, NVIDIA CUDA GPUs, and Multi-core CPUs to quicken RAR password recovery speed.
Now, let's look at some of the features of PassFab for RAR:
- User-friendly interface
- Multi-volume RAR archives bolster
- All RAR archives are supported
- Self-extracting archives are also supported
- RAR archives with encrypted names are supported
- RAR archives created by different applications are supported
First, let's take a look at the three attack types that come with PassFab for RAR. There are attack types depending on if you can recall one of the password data (e.g. password length, letters, number, and characters) and they all work to help whenever you've forgotten your RAR password.
1. Dictionary Attack: This is the speediest option and it helps recover the forgot RAR password based on the default dictionary, which lists common character combinations such as abc, aa, ABC, AB, ab, 123, and AA. Alternatively, you can import your self-made dictionary.
2. Brute-force with Mask Attack: This works faster than the first option and you use it only when you recall some parts of your password. You can pick the minimum and maximum length of the password according to your estimation. And there are even more settings; for example, Character Set.
3. Brute-force Attack: This is the default setting and it uses all possible ways to recover the RAR password without any defined setting. It attempts all combinations and patterns of the password and it is the best option when you have no clue about the forgot RAR password. It requires the maximum time.
Finally, below are the steps to recover the password successfully.
1. Download, install and launch the PassFab for RAR.
2. To import the password-protected RAR archive, hit the "Add" button.
3. Select one of the three attack types for password recovery.
4. After indicating the attack type and settings, click "Start" to begin recovery.
How exactly do people forget RAR password? Well, we are all humans and humans are bound to make mistakes. Experienced users know that WinRAR ought not to miss on any computer. In fact, the application now has so many alternatives for non-Windows devices because of its huge success. For Mac and/or Linux users, there are alternatives like The Unarchiver, WinZip, and Zipeg. But after all, WinRAR is still considered the best archive app available today.
Summary
When all is said and done, the two processes mentioned above are helpful approaches to recover lost or forgotten password of a RAR file. As discussed above, Notepad/CMD and PassFab for RAR are very useful RAR password recovery tools. The latter has a unique component to underpin the most recent RAR patterns, so users can access the password without much of a stretch. Hence, we hope either of the two aforementioned methods helps you recover forgot password of RAR file. As a side note, if one does not work, you can as well try the other method—and we can assure you at least one will help you with forgot password of RAR file.