Recovering the Admin or Employee Password in PrestaShop 1.5 Administrator Dashboard

PrestaShop provides a way to recover the password either automatically through email, or by manually resetting the password in the Administrator Dashboard interface.  Lost passwords can be recovered through email, provided that the email address is remembered the email account accessed.  Manual change of passwords can be done for the employees and administrators, but someone will need to be logged in as the administrator for this to happen.  The following article explains how to reset the password for all employees of the shop both through email and through the backoffice interface in PrestaShop 1.5.

Resetting the Administrator or Employee Passwords using the Administrator Dashboard in PrestaShop 1.5

1. Login to the Administrator
   
   
2. Hover over the menu where it says ADMINISTRATION.  Click on EMPLOYEES when the drop-down menu appears and you will see the following:
   
   
   
   Click on the EDIT () in order to edit the user. 
   
   
3. Like the CUSTOMER passwords, there is also a time limit that is typically imposed on the reset or re-creation of the password.  By default, this security period is six hours.  The EDIT interface will look similar to the following screen shot:
   
   
   
   In order to edit the password, click on the Password field and then change it. Note that only Super Administrators and Administrators (who have permission to change employee settings) will be able to make this change. See Add or Edit Permissions for an Employee Profile in PrestaShop 1.5. 
   
   
4. Click on SAVE in the top right hand corner when you changes are complete in order save your entries.

The other way that passwords can be recovered is through the login screen for the backoffice.  The login has a LOST PASSWORD dialog that will appear when selected.  It will prompt you for the email address used for the login.  If the login email address is lost or not known, then an administrator or super administrator will need to reset it. 

1. Go to the login screen for the Prestashop backoffice.  It will look like this:
   
   
   
   As per the login screen, if you have a lost password, then click on the LOST PASSWORD link.
   
   
2. Clicking on the LOST PASSWORD link will lead to this screen:
   
   
   
   
   
3. Click on the EMAIL ADDRESS field and then type in the email address that was used for the login.  Click on SEND and after a short period of time, the password will be sent to the email address with the password. 
   
   
   
Like the customer passwords, there is a reset period for the password that prevents the password from being guessed or repeatedly changed.  By default, this period of time is six hours.  Administrator passwords can only be recovered by Administrators or Super Administrators.

Recovery of a lost password for an Administrator or other employee is a fairly straightforward process.  Remember to keep all passwords secure by regularly changing them and not using passwords that are easy to compromise, such as using common words or letter and number combinations (address, phone numbers, and birth dates).  Make passwords at least 8 characters long and mix them with numbers.  Security for your website is only as good as you and your employees make it to be.