I'm in a tough spot after the sudden passing of my friend. He was a smart and private tech wizard, and he had a wipe system on his PC to protect his information. He mentioned that if someone tries to log in with the wrong password too many times, it will wipe the entire computer. Unfortunately, none of his family or friends know his passwords, and we need to access his digital will and cancel some subscriptions. His family is overwhelmed, and we're all struggling to figure this out, especially since he was our go-to for tech help. We also have no idea how to access his phone, and the coroner wouldn't let the family use his fingerprint to log in. I'm looking for safe ways to potentially bypass this situation and find the information we need.
1 Answer
It sounds like his PC might be enrolled in a mobile device management (MDM) solution or could be encrypted. If that's the case, trying to access it with a Linux live USB could be your best bet to examine the drive. However, if it's encrypted and under MDM, you might be out of luck finding anything useful without the passwords.
I heard a friend had success using a USB to recover basic files, but they hit a wall when it came to accessing accounts or anything more private. Just be cautious with your attempts in case the wipe feature kicks in!