Password guessing, also known as credential cracking, is a method of attempting to gain unauthorized access to an online account by guessing the user’s password. The goal of this activity is typically to gain access to confidential information, such as financial information, personal data or corporate secrets.
The main methods used to carry out this type of attack are dictionary attacks, brute-force attacks and rainbow table attacks. In a dictionary attack, the attacker randomly guesses passwords using dictionaries or lists of possible passwords. Brute-force attacks involve systematically trying every possible combination of passwords that might work in order to gain access. Rainbow table attacks involve reverse engineering a large set of computer passwords or hashes and then attempting to use them to gain access.
Password guessing is a common activity on the Internet and is made easier by the inclusion of passwords in many forms of data, such as usernames and passwords in databases and email addresses and passwords in website forms. Many online services that require a password use a combination of letters, numbers and symbols in order to provide a more secure system, making password guessing more difficult.
In recent years, there has been an increase in password guessing as more businesses and individuals rely on online accounts for their transactions. To protect passwords from being guessed, it is important for businesses and individuals to use strong passwords that are difficult to guess. Strong passwords should be comprised of a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters and should be changed regularly. In addition, two-factor authentication is becoming increasingly popular as a method to secure online accounts. This uses a combination of passwords and secondary identification such as a security code or fingerprint to provide an additional layer of security.
