Windows LanManager (LanMan) passwords have a maximum length of 14 characters and are stored as two 7-character one-way hashes. Windows NT/2000–downward compatibility for LanMan also complicates the issue. Passwords should also not be based on dictionary words and should contain at least seven characters (the longer the better).
Complex passwords should contain a good mixture of upper/lower case letters, numbers, and symbols.
FUTURE THE WIZRD ZIP SHARD CRACKED
Having passwords that are easily guessed or cracked introduces a large security risk to critical assets. In this situation, the weak encryption actually can be worse than none at all because the fact that the file is encrypted draws the attention of the cracker, who might otherwise have ignored it.ĭamage & Defense… More on Windows Passwords On the other hand, weak security can be disastrous in the case of vitally important information such as trade secrets or military data that is likely to be targeted by technically sophisticated crackers. Others argue that weak encryption is better than no encryption because it at least keeps out the casual, merely curious, or technically unsophisticated “snoop.” The truth, as usual, lies between the extremes weak encryption might be beneficial in some situations-for example, for a noncritical document such as a personal journal that a user wants to protect from other, nontechnical users who share the computer. Many security experts feel that weak, easily broken encryption is worse than no encryption at all because it gives users a false sense of security, leading them to be careless with sensitive data because they believe it is protected.