The last talk in the Open-Source password cracking series focuses on a tool that rivals the pay tools in function and capability - Hashcat.

Last episode I talked about using Cain to attack Windows LANMAN and NTLM hashes. Next we will discuss John the Ripper, Linux password files and rainbow tables.

In the last episode I talked about PW psychology, an important part of operationalizing any PW cracking tool effectively. Face it, the math is against you so understanding a person’s probable PW patterns is important. In this episode we will talk about our first tool that can be used against a PW file. First let’s go over some general features you will likely find in a PW cracking tool.

The next mini series will focus on open source password attack tools. There are some pay options out there, however, most IR teams do not have a need for it and disk forensic teams use if infrequently. Despite this many labs want the capability so it makes sense to explore the open source options first before spending the money. My goal here is talk about these options to provide some insight and to open the series I thought I's talk about password psychology since the weakness link in any password algorithm is usually the person using it.