Attacks on Passwords

At this particular juncture, it is worth taking a little detour into attacks, if for no other reason than that so many people are concerned about them. The primary concern with respect to passwords is obviously bad guys getting at them. Once they have them, or some representation thereof, the question is how they use them. Let's start by investigating how a potential attacker can obtain a password, or some form of it.

Obtaining Passwords

Attackers have several ways to get hold of your passwords. The following sections list them in order of ease of attack and prevalence (roughly speaking).

Ask for Them

An astonishing number of people, up to three-quarters in some studies, are willing to part with their passwords in trade for something ...

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