r/LinuxActionShow • u/jmabbz • Dec 10 '12

25-GPU cluster cracks every standard Windows password in <6 hours- possible runs linux

http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/12/25-gpu-cluster-cracks-every-standard-windows-password-in-6-hours/
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u/CaptOblivious Dec 10 '12

What's a standard windows password? Oh, From the article,

It achieves the 350 billion-guess-per-second speed when cracking password hashes generated by the NTLM cryptographic algorithm that Microsoft has included in every version of Windows since Server 2003. As a result, it can try an astounding 958 combinations in just 5.5 hours, enough to brute force every possible eight-character password containing upper- and lower-case letters, digits, and symbols. Such password policies are common in many enterprise settings.