Password Cracking

Before we get into cracking passwords with programs, I will explain a couple old-fashioned ways to obtain someone’s password.
• Social Engineering – Social engineering is when a hacker takes advantage of trusting human beings to get information from them. For example, if the hacker was trying to get the password for a co-workers computer, he (Even though I use “he”, hackers are of both genders, and I just chose to use “he” in these examples.) could call the co-worker pretending to be from the IT department.

Shoulder surfing – Shoulder surfing is exactly what it sounds like. The hacker would simply attempt to look over your shoulder as you type in your password. The hacker may also watch weather you glance around your desk, looking for a written reminder or the written password itself.
• Guessing – If you use a weak password, a hacker could simple guess it by using the information he knows about you. Some examples of this are: date of birth, phone number, favorite pet, and other simple things like these.