Password Storage Locations
Internet Explorer stores the passwords in different locations, depending on the version of IE, and the type of the password:
* Protected Storage: The 'Protected Storage' is a special secret location in the Registry that was used to store all the passwords of Internet Explorer in versions 4.0 - 6.0
The Registry location of the Protected Storage was HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System Provider. Starting from version 7.0 of Internet Explorer, the Protected Storage is no longer used for storing passwords.
* Registry (Storage2 Key): Starting from version 7.0 of IE, all AutoComplete passwords are stored in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IntelliForms\Storage2 Registry key. The passwords are encrypted with a key created from the Web site address, so it's not possible to get the password without knowing the Web site address.
* Credentials File: Starting from version 7.0 of IE, HTTP authentication passwords are saved in the Credentials file of Windows, together with other network/login passwords. The Credentials file is located in the following locations:
o Windows XP/2003: [Windows Profile]\Application Data\Microsoft\Credentials\[User SID]\Credentials and [Windows Profile]\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Credentials\[User SID]\Credentials
o Windows Vista: [Windows Profile]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Credentials\[Random ID] and [Windows Profile]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Credentials\[Random ID]
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