Clear Domain Cached Credentials On XP

The Start>Run>control userpasswords2>Advanced>Manage Passwords optiion can be used to delete locally cached credentials but it won't clear the domain cached credentials. These are  stored as hashes in the local systems registry at the values HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SECURITY\CACHE\NL$1 through NL$10.

 Note (Unless you change the security you require SYSTEM level privileges to access)

***********************************************************************************************

A further point for anyone who tries this solution.

Firstly to view the cache registry entries, you need to launch regedit as system.

Log on as an admin, load up a command prompt and type:

at xx:xx /interactive "regedit.exe"

where xx:xx is a time a few minutes in the future. at that time regedit will launch under the system account. you can then go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SECURITY\CACHE

To remove the cached credentials DO NOT delete the values NL$1 through NL$10 as Windows will not cache any credentials at all! Also DO NOT delete the NLControl value. I learnt this the hard way! Instead simply overwrite the data in NL$1 to 10 with zeroes.

***********************************************************************************************

You can even use third party tool like to CCLEANER to do this task.

Brief Description: CCleaner is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware! :)

For more info on CCleaner login to www. CCleaner.com