I don’t see any settings for giving or denying access to saved wifi passwords. I know if the user goes into network properties, wifi passwords are viewable as plain text from there, but this is different from a third-party program reading wifi passwords without the user’s knowledge or consent. Does windows allow programs that are not part of the system to read saved wifi passwords without the user’s knowledge or permission?
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1 Answer
Yes, this can be done.
At an Admin Command Prompt, type:
Command Prompt: netsh wlan show profile name="Profile Name" key=clear to see password
and you can get the WiFi password.
It depends on the attacking program, but the information is there if the program has the capacity.
So, probably you are OK, but be careful what is installed.
I have tested this here on Windows 10 Pro. It also works on Windows 11 Pro.
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Thank you. Is there any way I could figure out if a program is doing something like this? Commented Jul 17, 2021 at 21:44
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You would need to look through Programs and Features to see if there is a program unknown to you and in the list of installed programs. I do not think this is likely but (a) you asked if it was possible (yes) and (b) you would need to give someone access to your computer.– anonCommented Jul 17, 2021 at 21:48
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You mean it does require admin privilege, right? Commented Jul 17, 2021 at 22:03
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It depends on what the rogue program is doing. Most individuals run as Admin, so this too is possible. It is not likely, but possible.– anonCommented Jul 17, 2021 at 22:04
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Thank you. If I’m logged in on an admin account, but run programs normally (not running from “as administrator” in the right-click menu), the programs should not have admin access to anything, should they? Commented Jul 17, 2021 at 22:11