What is a Password Cracker?
A password cracker is a computer software program used to recover user names and passwords stored on computers. As more computing functions have a need for enhanced security, passwords have become more standard. As a result, password crackers have also gained in popularity. For those in need of a password cracker, there are plenty of options from which to choose. Some may work when the computer boots up. This may be helpful if one needs to recover a login password. Others work once the computer is running to recover other types of passwords. The type of password cracker you may need is dependent upon a number of other variables as well. First, if a user is able to get on the computer in question, it is likely he or she does not need a password cracker that works at startup. Second, some password crackers work with certain operating systems, so looking at the software requirements before installing a password cracker is important. The most common legitimate use for a password cracker is
Password cracker is any program which can decrypt passwords or otherwise disable password protection (e.g. decrypt file without knowing the password). If mechanisms of password protection use weak encryption, than it is possible to recover the original password or pick a new one, considered to be correct. Otherwise, password crackers can use brute force method trying words after word, often at high speeds.
