Q: WHAT IS BACKUP PASSWORD/, WHAT IS BACKUP PASSWORD/

Whatever you set it to be.

Nobody knows. Actually, you should know, but if you forgets, you can still do backups.  To restore you will need the password.

Warning: Make sure it's a password you will remember or write it down for safekeeping. If you encrypt an iPhone backup in iTunes and forget your password, you can't restore from backup and your data will be unrecoverable.

From: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946

Please turn off your caps lock.  All caps indicates shouting and is difficult to read.

iOS: Troubleshooting encrypted backups - Support - Apple

Yes, you did.  No one else could have set that password to encrypt your iTunes backups, unless they had access to your computer.

drashish123 wrote:

 

BUT I VE NOT SET ANY PASSWORD

You set the password. It may not have been recently. At some time in the past, whenever that was (maybe even 5 years ago) either you checked "Encrypt backup" or you installed a company MS Exchange account on your phone and the administrator required that the backup be encrypted. The first sync you did after that you were prompted for a password - twice, to confirm it. All backups since then have been encrypted. The password is never required again, until you need to restore.

So start guessing what password you might have entered. To make it faster try unchecking "Encrypt backup" and you will be prompted immediately.

I love the answer of "you must have put a password". How about this theory, a glitch in iTunes which when selecting "encrypt", it doesn’t prompt for a password. So, the contents are encrypted with no password. But, the pickle is when restoring an encrypted backup, a password is required. This is what I call a software glitch. I called apple support last night and I think one of the supervisors, Brian, will pass this information to the engineers.

The solution to this problem would include allowing restoration of encrypted backups with blank password.

After doing some research, I have another method which I am going to test. I am going to create a password when doing a backup. I am assuming that the password is stored internally in the phone. Then once the password is set, I will try to recover the backup with the lost password.

Last resort is using all passwords which have been used. This includes pass code for phone new and old, apple id passwords old and new, all windows stored passwords new and old ( log in, email, wireless, fb, etc ).

In either case, this seems to be a common issue which Apple is not taking the initiate to resolve. It is always assumed that the users put a password and then forgot which is not the case.

It should also be noted that it is against their policy to provide means to compromise encrypted backups which could be used maliciously.

I do applaud Apple support though, they speak clear English, they are courteous, and they are professional even when they don’t know how to resolve your issue.

  My long term goal after this mess is not to encrypt the backup, rather keep the backup encrypted with other means like Truecrypt.

evropej wrote:

 

I love the answer of "you must have put a password". How about this theory, a glitch in iTunes which when selecting "encrypt", it doesn’t prompt for a password. So, the contents are encrypted with no password. But, the pickle is when restoring an encrypted backup, a password is required. This is what I call a software glitch. I called apple support last night and I think one of the supervisors, Brian, will pass this information to the engineers.

Interesting hypothesis, but it doesn't fit the observations. Lots of people have figured out what the backup encryption password is, sometimes by guessing, sometimes using Elcomsoft's password cracker (the only one that actually works). Every one of them has said it was a password that they knew, and had used elsewhere. So it isn't that there is no password; there IS a password. And one known to the user. Here's the catch: iTunes has no way of knowing what passwords you have used elsewhere. So iTunes could not have arbitrarily chosen one of your favorite passwords.

When you select "encrypt" it asks for a password. It asks twice for confirmation. But it may have been 5 years ago. Do you really remember what you did a long time ago?

Truecrypt is an excellent product and solution. However, one thing that it doesn't do that encrypting iTunes backup DOES to is include your saved passwords on the iPhone in the backup.

I have read a lot of posts and yes, I believe in some cases that is true, they used previous passwords.

But in my case, I can tell you that I did not. I have backup images of my OS and iPhone backups which show no encryption was ever used in the past. I remember recently I started doing this and never entered a password.

FYI I have tried brute forcing unlock codes, all permutations of my logins from all sorts of places, dictionary attacks, etc with no luck what so ever.

If in fact apple programmed itunes to do this, it is a horrible policy to say the least. Its like going to your bank, depositing money, the bank using a password from 15 years ago and not telling you. Its just bad programming.

My next option is to try and find a way to get the diologue box to accept a blank password. Its funny that even on the apple support site they say to use a blank password when in fact new itunes does not allow it.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5162

Maybe I will see if I can find an old itunes and see maybe it can accept blank passwords.

Update:

They dont let access through older versions of iTunes.