how do I unlock a vi that is password protected????

[setchmo]

We have a VI that I went to update from version 7.x to 2009SP1. I need to add some troubleshotting items to the front panel. The problem is that the VI is password protected and no one remembers the password, just possible passwords.

What are my options???

Thank you in advance,

Seth W. Warnke

[altenbach]

If the number of possibilities is small, simply try them all. 😉

[Darin.K]

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@setchmo wrote:

What are my options???

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I would get busy rewriting from scratch now, these stories never end well.

Perhaps you have a thousand monkeys and a thousand keyboards.

(I am sure they are useful, but so far the passwords I have placed on VIs have only stopped me from getting to the BD...)

[SteveChandler]

If Christian's advice doesn't help then you are likely out of luck. Even if there were a utility hack you could find yourself in serious trouble by using it even if you own the vi. I believe that defeating software security is illegal period and regardless of ownership of the code or media. I may be completely wrong but it also could be against the NI license agreement. Cracking password protected media is skating on very thin ice. Don't go there.

My only advice is for the future. Create strong passwords only if you need strong passwords and remember them. Although many would argue against this you should write them down somewhere. Yes someone could break in and find your piece of paper where you wrote your password and steal your vi. In my mind writing down a password and carrying it in your wallet is no different than carrying around a bunch of keys. The risks are the same and are tolerable in most cases. So create a strong password and keep it only in grey matter if it is for unlocking launch codes or something as serious as that.

Having said that the password for my bank account exists only in my mind. The difference is that if I forget it I can always call my bank or go to a branch and show my license and get it reset. With a vi you have no such fallback.

[Ben]

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@Darin.K wrote:

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@setchmo wrote:

What are my options???

---

I would get busy rewriting from scratch now, these stories never end well.

Perhaps you have a thousand monkeys and a thousand keyboards.

(I am sure they are useful, but so far the passwords I have placed on VIs have only stopped me from getting to the BD...)

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Yes start the re-write.

...

So start writing now.

Ben

[setchmo]

Soooooooo, if I understand correctly, if I don't figure out the password, I'm SCREWED!!!

Thanks for all of the replies.

Seth

[adambe]

As far as your posted issue, I do not have a solution.

In the future, your safest method would be to write an encryption algorythm yourself.  Create a seed string and include that on the front panel.  All you have to do then is make sure you have good control over the encryption method, and that no one mistakenly changes the seed string without updating the front panel.  Also, you could use the VI name, description or some other value for your seed string.

Not 100% safe, but it should be more than sufficient to keep the honest people honest.

[Darin.K]

According to Lisa Simpson, the Chinese use the same word for Crisis and Opportunity.

Ah yes, Crisitunity!

Maybe this is the opportunity to fix all the things wrong with version 1....

[setchmo]

The problem is: it isn't version 1, more like version 3 or 4!!!!

[PaulG.]

I don't know how many times I've heard a similar story. I'll give you my standard response: if you need passwords you have a management problem. Not you, but the folks that run your organization. In a perfect world messing with someone else's code without authorization would be grounds for immediate termination. Nobody's code is "that good" and nobody should have to worry about needing a password on a VI unless you are making money from it. And it that were the case everyone would have the sense to remember the password or where the password is written down.

Passwords are for secret clubs and bank accounts.