Īs told earlier NTLM hash is very weak for encrypting passwords.The NTLM encryption algorithm is explained below : Both system and SAM files are unavailable (i.e, locked by kernel) to standard programs (like regedit) during Windows' runtime. The SAM file is further encrypted with the SysKey (Windows 2000 and above) which is stored in %SystemRoot%\system32\config\system file.During the boot-time of Windows the hashes from the SAM file gets decrypted using the SysKey and the hashes are loaded to the registry is then used for authentication purpose. Windows user account passwords are typically stored in SAM hive of the registry (which corresponds to %SystemRoot%\system32\config\SAM file), in the SAM file the password is kept encrypted using the NTLM hash is very well known for its cryptanalysis weaknesses. Now lets talk about the password protection method used by Windows.
John the Ripper is a fast password cracker, primarily for cracking Unix (shadow) passwords.Other than Unix-type encrypted passwords it also supports cracking Windows LM hashes and many more with open source contributed patches. In this post I will show you how to crack Windows passwords using John The Ripper.
Windows password cracking using John The Ripper Photo by rc.xyz NFT gallery / Unsplash
