Recover License Keys for Installed Software

Free app crawls thru your registry so you don’t have to

We have previously written about a method forrecovering the license keysfor Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office programs using a tool called ProduKey. ProduKey is a great program from Nirsoft that works with Microsoft products and third-party software also.

We have found another free tool, calledLicenseCrawler, that recovers license keys by crawling through the registry to find all the license keys and serial numbers for all software installed on your system.

DownloadLicenseCrawlerfrom

http://www.klinzmann.name/licensecrawler_download.htm.

NOTE:We chose to downloadLicenseCrawlerfrom FreewareFiles. Softonic has an extra download process you must go through to get the file. I also did a VirusTotal check on their website and the setup file and both came up clean for malware/spyware. The program does show some ads in it when you do a search, but you can disable it easily.

You will get a.zipfile from FreewareFiles.LicenseCrawlerdoes not need to be installed. Simply, unzip the file you downloaded and double-click theLicenseCrawler.exefile to runLicenseCrawler.

TheSelect your Languagedialog box displays. Select the desired language from the drop-down list and clickOK. TheLicenseCrawlerlicense dialog box displays. ClickAcceptto continue.

The selected language and the fact that you accepted the license can be saved into a settings file, if you choose to. To do this, clickYeson theSave Settingsdialog box.

Search For License Keys

TheLicenseCrawlermain window displays. You can choose to search your current machine (Localhost) for license keys or other machines in the same network. To search another machine in the network, click the down arrow on theComputerdrop-down list.

TheSearching for Computerdialog box displays whileLicenseCrawlersearches for other machines in the network.

If there are no other machines on the network, an error displays. If other machines are found on the network, they are displayed in theComputerdrop-down list. Select a machine from theComputerdrop-down list.

NOTE:You will need a valid username and password for the remote machine you select in the network and the ability to access the registry.

You can change the registry path by selecting an option from the drop-down list below theComputerdrop-down list. We recommend you leave the registry path as the default,HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

To start the search for your license keys, clickSearch.

Some advertising dialog boxes may display before the search begins. ClickDisable this Screen. You can select theClose after time-outcheck box, instead, to have no more ads display after the countdown is finished.

Once the countdown is finished, you can clickOKto close the dialog box.

The keys being searched display in theSearchingedit box as the search progresses. When the search is finished, theSearchingedit box indicates the search isDone. The number of serial numbers displays below theSearchingedit box and the license keys and serials numbers are displayed in the large text box.

You can save the license keys and serial numbers to a plain text file or an encrypted text file. To save an encrypted text file, selectSave Encryptedfrom theFilemenu.

TheSave asdialog box displays. Navigate to the folder in which you want to save the file.

NOTE:The default folder is theLicenseCrawlerfolder, where theLicenseCrawler.exefile is located. We recommend you save the file in theLicenseCrawlerfolder. This allows you to easily backup your license keys and serial numbers to an external drive just by copying theLicenseCrawlerfolder. Then, you can easily access your license keys and serial numbers once you have reinstalled Windows, if needed.

Enter a name for the file in theFile nameedit box and clickSave.

TheSave file encrypteddialog box displays. Enter a password in the edit box and clickOK. Note that the password displays in clear text.

You see encrypted text in the license keys file when you open it.

To view your license keys in clear text, openLicenseCrawler, if it is not already open. SelectLoadfrom theFilemenu.

TheOpen Filedialog box displays. Navigate to the folder where you saved the text file. Again, the selected folder defaults to the folder containing theLicenseCrawler.exefile. Select the text file and clickOpen.

On theFile Opendialog box that displays, enter the password you assigned to the encrypted text file in the edit box and clickOK. The list of license keys and serial numbers displays in the large text box on theLicenseCrawlermain window.

You can change the language used inLicenseCrawlerby selectingLanguagefrom theToolsmenu. If you change the language while in the program, you can resave the settings file so the program opens using the newly selected language next time. To do this, selectSave Propertiesfrom theFilemenu.

TheSave Settingsdialog box displays again. ClickYesto save the new settings.

The settings are saved in theLicenseCrawler.inifile in the same folder as theLicenseCrawler.exefile.

If you open theLicenseCrawler.inifile in a text editor, you will notice that the selected language and the fact that you accepted the license agreement are saved in the file.

You can also runLicenseCrawleron the command line. To view the available commands available for use on the command line, selectHelpfrom theHelpmenu.

A dialog box displays listing the available commands and examples of usingLicenseCrawleron the command line with the commands. ClickOKat the bottom of the dialog box to close it.

To closeLicenseCrawler, clickExit.

If you don’t want to encrypt the file you save containing your license keys and serial numbers, you can save it as a plain text file. However, if you chose to save your license keys and serial numbers in a plain, unencrypted text file, we recommend you encrypt the data another way to secure your license keys. Enjoy!

Founder of Help Desk Geek and managing editor. He began blogging in 2007 and quit his job in 2010 to blog full-time. He has over 15 years of industry experience in IT and holds several technical certifications.Read Aseem’s Full Bio

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Recover License Keys for Installed Software#

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