This is a generic how to, working for all Linux distributions, not only for Ubuntu or Debian or Centos etc etc.

I see a lot of howto’s what are based on the same “story”: boot in “single mode” and type passwd to change the password, but are some systems like Debian and probably others what doesn’t let you get in single mode if you don’t know the root password … so the single mode solution it will not work.

First I will describe you the single mode solution, because the start of this solution is very similar with the next solution what I will present you in the end.
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Enforcing password security with a multiple-user system can be a hassle — users all too often use inadequate passwords. john-the-ripper (also available via most distros) is a password-cracking tool that enables the identification of vulnerable passwords before someone with nefarious intentions finds the weakness.
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Losing your root password isn’t the end of the world, though. You’ll just need to reboot into single user mode to reset it. Here’s how to do it on a typical Ubuntu machine with the GRUB bootloader:

Boot Linux into single-user mode

1. Reboot the machine.
2. Press the ESC key while GRUB is loading to enter the menu.
3. If there is a ‘recovery mode’ option, select it and press ‘b’ to boot into single user mode.
4. Otherwise, the default boot configuration should be selected. Press ‘e’ to edit it.
5. Highlight the line that begins with ‘kernel’. Press ‘e’ again to edit this line.
6. At the end of the line, add an additional parameter: ‘single’. Hit return to make the change and press ‘b’ to boot.

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That you’ll ever need?
Windows/Mac/Linux: Firefox extension and Internet Explorer add-on LastPass is a secure password manager for all your web passwords. Like other web-focused password managers, LastPass puts all of your individual passwords behind one master password. When you type in that master password, LastPass can then automatically log you in to any web site you visit with saved login credentials. Even better, LastPass syncs passwords over the internet, so all your saved passwords on your work computer, for example, will always be synced up on your home computer.

Create strong passwords, knowing you only have to remember one.

Log into your favorite sites with a single click

Access and manage your data from multiple computers seamlessly

Share logins with friends and let others share logins with you

https://lastpass.com

by LysergicBliss
A cardinal rule of computer security is that once an attacker has
acquired physical access to a machine, it is generally trivial for
that attacker to fully compromise the system. As technology
improves, this is becoming less the case, but for now, if an attacker
has physical access to a machine, the attacker can generally breach
its security.
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From Pauldotcom:

winlockpwn is a memory analysis tool released by Adam Boileau of storm.net.nz. This utility exploits firewire’s direct memory access. The operating system allows firewire devices to directly read/write memory without having to go through the processor. Sounds handy right? (more…)