the.com/password cracking
guessing someone's secret faster than they can forget it themselves.
means using software to systematically try passwords until one unlocks the account or file.
from grew up alongside computer security in the 1960s-70s, when unix systems started storing hashed passwords, giving hackers a puzzle instead of plaintext to steal.
top methoddictionary attacks beat random guessing most of the time
speed recordmodern gpus try billions of guesses per second
weak linkreused passwords crack every account at once
defense tricksalting hashes makes cracking exponentially slower