# Forgotten internet explorer password



## mgoldsmid (Apr 17, 2005)

Can anyone help me unlock internet explorer's content ratings password, unfortunately I cannot recall the password chosen and therefore am locked into an inappropriate content rating? 

The change is needed so my young grandson can use Mac's internet explorer safely.


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## appleswitch (Apr 10, 2005)

http://www.freeverse.com/bumpercar2/

Please don't use Internet explorer, It ruins any computrer Its on


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## Millsy (Feb 4, 2005)

Reinstalling IE should do it. It's an easy task, and you could even have 2 different copies, hide the "unlocked" one and let your grandson use the normal locked version


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## mgoldsmid (Apr 17, 2005)

*Forgotten IE password*

Thanks Millsy for a nice simple solution!


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## YeeFam (Nov 19, 2004)

*Excellent!*

mgoldsmid,

Have you thought about setting an account for your grandson?

It is really pretty simple and effective way to keep control of the computer.

Welcome to TSF


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## mgoldsmid (Apr 17, 2005)

*Forgotten IE password*

YeeFam, thanks. I will create a separate login user for my grandson. 

Nevertheless, I can't understand why deleting the IE password is proving so difficult - there has to be somewhere on the HD where the IE password is stored and if that could be located, it should be able to be trashed.


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## YeeFam (Nov 19, 2004)

You are absolutely correct, it must be written somewhere, and it is hidden away. Microsoft did a good job this time!

I changed my Ratings Settings Password and then listed every file that was changed today, and could not find the file changed that has the password.

The good news is that the password is only for that account. So in a new account IE will let you control the preferences again.

This is actually good news, it should not be easy to get rid of passwords.

Have you tried to install a fresh copy of IE, and not keep the preferences?


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## mgoldsmid (Apr 17, 2005)

*Forgotten IE password*

Thanks YeeFam, no, I haven't deleted & reinstalled IE yet, but will probably end up doing so in desperation; I'd much prefer to learn how to manually remove the IE password from the HD.


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## tetano (Apr 5, 2005)

i've checked everywhere, it's really hard, the only file that can be related to this issue is the com.apple.internetconfig.plist, i can see a SecurityPassword key, but i've no experience in codes, so it's a pure speculation... 

I've tried to change the password, and the string changes...


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## YeeFam (Nov 19, 2004)

Yes - I found the same thing.

com.apple.internetconfig.plist seems to be the preferences for IE, and the details (such as passwords) are put somewhare else. I've deleted the file, and the password still survives. So, there is a copy somewhere or the password is in a different place. Which is an excellent design - you want the settings in one place and the actual data somewhere else. These passwords are suppose to be secure!

My guess right now is that it is buried in the root of the user's account and made invisble. The way the security is designed, I don't think it could hide it anywhere else other then in the shared account.

Administratively, the solution is to create a new admin account, backup the old account user's data, wipe out the old account, - no more problems.

If two people uses the computer, there should be three accounts, administative and the two user accounts (with standard privileges.)


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## mgoldsmid (Apr 17, 2005)

*forgotten IE password*

Many thanks for everyone's help - all your comments have been much apreciated. 

I have deleted the user account, so the problem has been resolved. I have also given my grandson his own user account.


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## tetano (Apr 5, 2005)

well, I hope he didn't come to this forum to check how to bypass the explorer password!


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## YeeFam (Nov 19, 2004)

That is really not a problem.

If the user account is a standard account (no admin rights), he cannot:
• Delete any accounts
• Install any software
without knowing the admin password.

Standard accounts and admin accounts cannot examine other user accounts, unless the owners of the accounts change the privileges of the folders.

The admin can also lock the preferences so that the user cannot even modify any of the security settings. This will give the admin the ability to login to examine the account contents whenever the need arises.

So the key is to keep the admin password private.


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## tetano (Apr 5, 2005)

I know that, was just joking!


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## YeeFam (Nov 19, 2004)

I kinda figured you knew - but many users do not become fully aware of the implications of the settings.

I've seen lots of documents on how to do it, much fewer as to why.

And we really appreciate your input into this forum!


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## tetano (Apr 5, 2005)

Thanks!


And since this thread seems to deal with a general behaviour about security settings, I think that it's the right place to post a general advice for other users, and in particular for users that deal with files and apps with a not-so-trusty origin... Since the first MacOSX malware is appeared, a good practice could be to mantain a separate account for the normal user and for the administrator, even if there's only one user on the machine, and avoiding to log as root on the machine...



YeeFam said:


> Standard accounts and admin accounts cannot examine other user accounts, unless the owners of the accounts change the privileges of the folders.
> 
> The admin can also lock the preferences so that the user cannot even modify any of the security settings. This will give the admin the ability to login to examine the account contents whenever the need arises.
> 
> So the key is to keep the admin password private.


Your suggestion is extremely appropriated to this case, since this malware seems to delete and modify the preferences for the account that it infects..


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