Password Cracking

What Is Password Cracking?

Password cracking is the process of attempting to gain access to a system or account by guessing or recovering passwords. It is a form of hacking that uses various techniques to guess passwords, such as dictionary attacks, brute force attacks, and rainbow tables. Password cracking is often used by malicious actors to gain access to sensitive information or systems, but it can also be used by security professionals to test the strength of passwords and identify weak passwords that need to be changed.

Description

Password cracking is the process of attempting to gain access to a system or account by guessing or recovering passwords.

Usage and Examples

Password cracking is often used by malicious actors to gain access to sensitive information or systems. For example, a malicious actor may use a dictionary attack to guess passwords by trying common words or phrases. They may also use a brute force attack, which involves trying every possible combination of characters until the correct password is found. Additionally, they may use rainbow tables, which are pre-computed tables of hashes that can be used to quickly guess passwords.

Password cracking can also be used by security professionals to test the strength of passwords and identify weak passwords that need to be changed. For example, a security professional may use a dictionary attack to identify passwords that are too common or easily guessed. They may also use a brute force attack to identify passwords that are too short or lack complexity.