Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

This section contains user-submitted tutorials.
Post Reply
User avatar
Dravion
Senior user
Senior user
Posts: 2071
Joined: 2015-09-26 11:50
Location: Germany
Contact:

Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by Dravion » 2017-07-19 14:22

If you cannot longer login into your hMailServer because you have forgotten your hMailServer Admin password,
you can reset it quickly with the following method:

In the hMailServer.ini in section

[Security]
AdministratorPassword=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This is NOT a Blowfish or SHA Algorithm. It is really a encrypted weak MD5 Hash.

To reset your Administrator password do the following:

1) Stop the hMailServer Service
2) Goto your hMailServer Program folder (for example: c:\Program Files (x86)\bin\
3) Copy or make a Backup of your original hMailServer.ini file
4) Insert a new MD5 Hash and replace the old password with a new password.

This should look like this:
AdministratorPassword=cc03e747a6afbbcbf8be7668acfebee5

5) Open hMailAdmin and click connect, this will start the hMailServer and provide the password box

Your new Admin login password is: letmein

ps:
You can generate a MD5 Hash from some other password anytime for example at:
http://www.md5.cz/

ICT AWOL
New user
New user
Posts: 12
Joined: 2016-05-06 09:21

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by ICT AWOL » 2017-10-24 06:23

cc03e747a6afbbcbf8be7668acfebee5 = letmein ??

Thanks.

User avatar
Dravion
Senior user
Senior user
Posts: 2071
Joined: 2015-09-26 11:50
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by Dravion » 2017-10-24 06:30

ICT AWOL wrote:cc03e747a6afbbcbf8be7668acfebee5 = letmein ??

Thanks.
Yes :)

ps: If you regained access to you hMailServer with the new password, dont forget to setup a new password
and dont use "letmein" all the time!

tjeodhdu
New user
New user
Posts: 3
Joined: 2018-04-13 01:43

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by tjeodhdu » 2018-04-13 16:15

I tried the above hash and it didn't work. I also tried the suggested MD5 generator along with a few other sites and none worked.

So I had to install hMailServer 5.6.7-B2415 on a new computer and generate a password.
These are for hMailServer 5.6.7-B2415. The first one is a blank password.

password:
hash: d4fc24b5da81d7e3c6add87adc35d24ee77be21c1d649476ac9c218441535c6372bf33

password: 1
hash: f43bf9b4ce707662784a64f22375ca6a889ef452b437f26492e97633577af5a4e364bc

password: letmein
7c71d621cb147334a43a7d8efb03443dba7a3d3f307c9f242e1b9bb96a593c00ce4e0d

Hope this helps someone.

Luna Moon
New user
New user
Posts: 8
Joined: 2018-05-01 17:26

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by Luna Moon » 2018-05-02 11:51

Thank you all for the great advise! "letmein" made me giggle a bit :D

User avatar
Dravion
Senior user
Senior user
Posts: 2071
Joined: 2015-09-26 11:50
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by Dravion » 2018-05-02 13:19

:lol: :D

AyrA
New user
New user
Posts: 7
Joined: 2014-08-19 19:49

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by AyrA » 2018-08-08 05:51

I was wondering if resetting the password is easier, and it turns out it is:
  1. Stop hMailServer Service
  2. Open C:\Program Files (x86)\hMailServer\Bin\hMailServer.INI
  3. Remove the red part from the line AdministratorPassword=<something> and save
  4. Start service and log in without a password at all
Don't forget to set a password again.

Note: When experimenting I found out that the password can be two different types of hash.
If the short hash is used (32 characters), it's MD5 and still from the installer.
If the long hash is used, the password was changed in the administration tool at least once.

I checked it and you can delete the password string regardless of hash type in use. Further testing revealed that the hash type is not part of the INI file itself so I assume it's a setting in an SQL table somewhere.

User avatar
jimimaseye
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 10053
Joined: 2011-09-08 17:48

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by jimimaseye » 2018-08-08 09:04

AyrA wrote:
2018-08-08 05:51
I was wondering if resetting the password is easier, and it turns out it is:
  1. Stop hMailServer Service
  2. Open C:\Program Files (x86)\hMailServer\Bin\hMailServer.INI
  3. Remove the red part from the line AdministratorPassword=<something> and save
  4. Start service and log in without a password at all
Don't forget to set a password again.
Wow. Unbelievably simple. (Tested and confirmed.)

A bit dangerous in that this is allowed as it leaves the potential situation where the installation is no longer password protected (if they forget or choose to not set another).
5.7 on test.
SpamassassinForWindows 3.4.0 spamd service
AV: Clamwin + Clamd service + sanesecurity defs : https://www.hmailserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=26829

User avatar
mattg
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 22435
Joined: 2007-06-14 05:12
Location: 'The Outback' Australia

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by mattg » 2018-08-08 09:25

Yes, makes in the clear passwords in scripts look like an issue of no importance

Don't know how this could be done though...leaving the method of changing the ini file to reset the password...
Just 'cause I link to a page and say little else doesn't mean I am not being nice.
https://www.hmailserver.com/documentation

AyrA
New user
New user
Posts: 7
Joined: 2014-08-19 19:49

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by AyrA » 2018-08-08 18:31

Windows has an elegant approach for no passwords, and that is disabling remote login completely. hMailServer could do the same. Additionally it should probably list the password issue in the configuration warnings list.

User avatar
mattg
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 22435
Joined: 2007-06-14 05:12
Location: 'The Outback' Australia

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by mattg » 2018-08-09 01:17

Just 'cause I link to a page and say little else doesn't mean I am not being nice.
https://www.hmailserver.com/documentation

kandersen
New user
New user
Posts: 9
Joined: 2017-04-13 12:21

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by kandersen » 2020-01-31 18:51

I desperately need help on this one..
I cant login to the administrator. I get the error with username or password beeing wrong..
I tried all the above, as well as installing the same version on top (as suggested in the doc). I still end up the samme..
It was working last night. I logged in fine. From the administrator tool I changed the password. Next time I tried to login, I get this error, and I cant seem to fix it.

I´m running hmailserver 5.6.6.B2383

What do I do now?

I´m not sure how the .ini file is suppose to look like. But MSSQLCE username is empty.. Is that normal?

User avatar
Dravion
Senior user
Senior user
Posts: 2071
Joined: 2015-09-26 11:50
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by Dravion » 2020-01-31 20:00

No Username for MS-SQL CE is normal.

But Database Username and Password has nothing to do
with your hMailServer Administrator password.

The Admin Password is a hashed Password done with MD5.

Make sure you opened your Texteditor as Windows Admin or none of your changes will be saved and the old settings are in charge.

Read the Guide verry carefully, there is no way arround it except erasing your Harddrive and freshly installing Windows and hMailServer on top of it again.

kandersen
New user
New user
Posts: 9
Joined: 2017-04-13 12:21

Re: Reset your hMailServer Admin password quickly

Post by kandersen » 2020-01-31 20:05

For some reason I cant seem to explain, it´s working now.. I got in with the empty password..
I had to restart windows for god knows what reason.. After that, then I could login with empty password.
Very weird!

Post Reply