I'm using lotus notes and I have a big problem. I have a id file with no password. How can I get a password for it or reset it. Is there some type of utility or something someone knows of?I have been told that I'm out of luck unless I have the original.
I assume you mean the ID file has a password, but that you have forgotten it. Notes uses your password as an encryption key and encrypts the ID file. There is no utility existing or possible that can reconstruct the ID file without knowing the password. There is a company called AccessData Corporation in Lindon, Utah that claims to have written a utility that will do a brute force search guessing large numbers of passwords and trying to verify each guess. If you have a vague recollection that you didn't pick your password very carefully, they might be able to help you. I have no experience with the company and have no idea what they charge, whether they actually provide this service, or indeed whether they still exist. Otherwise, your system administrator can create a new ID file for you. That will work fine except that if you have any data encrypted under your key (e.g. you received any encrypted email), that data is forever lost. Notes System Administrators at sites where people use encryption are strongly encouraged to have a backup strategy for archiving ID files for just this eventuality. You might ask whether he did so, and encourage him to do so in the future if not. [Note: the tradeoff between protecting the privacy of employees from nosy system administrators and bailing them out when they forget their passwords is a sensitive one. People have strong opposing views on what's "right".] Good luck. --Charlie Kaufman