Ophcrack 5

Ophcrack is an open source (GPL license) program that cracks Windows LM hashes using rainbow tables. The program includes the ability to import the hashes from a variety of formats, including dumping directly from the SAM files of Windows. There is also a LiveCD version which automates the retrieval, decryption, and cracking of passwords from a Windows system.

Rainbow tables for LM hashes of alphanumeric passwords are provided for free by the developers. These tables can crack 99.9% of alphanumeric passwords of up to 14 characters in usually a few seconds, and at most a few minutes. Larger rainbow tables (for LM hashes of passwords with all printable characters, including symbols and space) are available for purchase from Objectif Securité.

Starting with version 2.3, Ophcrack also cracks NT hashes. This is necessary if generation of the LM hash is disabled (this is default on Windows Vista), or if the password is longer than 14 characters (in which case the LM hash is not stored).

Per my experience, it is one of the best, if not the very best utility to uncover Windows administrator passwords. It is fast, reliable, and pretty easy to use even for unexperienced computer operator.