If your settings are locked, click Restore password within the application. You can then enter the email address used for subscription registration to receive a verification code.
ESET does not store passwords in plaintext (thankfully). However, in older versions (pre-ESET PROTECT 8.0/9.0), they used rather than strong, salted hashing for certain local configuration values. This is a critical point: Obfuscation is not encryption. eset password decoder
Modern ESET versions (v13+) have slightly altered their obfuscation technique, meaning older decoders (from 2015) will no longer work. The Ultimate Guide to the ESET Password Decoder:
: Enter the provided recovery password at the boot screen to gain access and immediately change your password in the product settings. ESET Security Forum 3. ESET Password Manager Recovery ESET Password Manager uses a Master Password that ESET does not store. Feature: Similar to a password decoder but specifically
To be completely transparent, there was a narrow window of time (roughly 2008–2014) where third-party tools could decode ESET passwords. These tools did not "crack" the password; they extracted the hash from the Windows Registry and compared it against a pre-computed lookup table (rainbow table).
[+] ESET product found: ESET File Security v11.0 [+] Encoded password found: 7B5A4C3F... [+] Decoded password: MySecurePassword123
For older home edition products, ESET provides an unlock utility that generates a numeric ID. You must provide this ID to ESET Customer Care to receive a unique unlock code. 2. ESET Endpoint Encryption (EEE)