Generic question about password cracking

http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/aesq&a.htm

Don't worry about it.

 

OMG really interesting article

 

Brute force is a long, hard way to do it.

Most likely the hacker would look for a weakness in the file format or the software to handle the decryption to exploit.

Some older "password protected" formats would store the actual password in the file somewhere.

Now files typically store only a hash of the password (typ. a 32 bit number computed from the actual password). These are not totally secure either depending on the hash function used. There are dictionaries of just hash values of various words and even phrases that can be used by a program to crack a hashed password.

WiFi WEP cracking uses a method of "brute force" and hash cracking to get in "easily." Easy as in needing a third-party WiFi device and 10-15 minutes of blasting the base station with junk packets to collect enough hashes that the password can be deduced mathematically.

 

There are indeed programs that help with cracking passwords. I have some installed. Very few hackers try to crack a password by hand, like they sometimes show in TV/Movies where they try the person's kids name or birth date. Though there are still plenty of people who uses ridiculously simple passwords.

Typically though, gaining access to them system doesn't use cracking, but forms of social engineering. It's how Palin's Twitter and Hotmail accounts got hacked. No cracking was done, just smarts.