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Password Spraying vs Brute Force: Differences & Prevention
Complete prevention guide against any password attacks!
6 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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Key notes
Password stealing is one of the easiest ways a bad actor can get access to your personal data. Every day, we see reports of social media accounts (be it Instagram, Facebook, or Snapchat) or other websites being hacked. The attackers use different methods to gain access to your password, and today we will look at Password Spraying and Brute Force.
Though platforms have developed protocols to improve security and mitigate risks, hackers always manage to identify loopholes and vulnerabilities to exploit them. But there are some measures that will protect you against Password Spraying and Brute Force attacks.
Most of them are simple to implement, and we think that they’re absolutely necessary for good online hygiene.
For those wondering what a brute force attack is, it is a technique hackers use to bombard the authentication server with a range of passwords for a specific account. They start with the simpler ones, say123456orpassword123, and move on to the more complex passwords until the actual credential is found.
Hackers basically use all possible character combinations, and this is achieved through a set of specialized tools.
But there’s a downside to it. When employing brute force attacks, it often takes a long time to identify the correct password. Also, if websites have additional security measures, say, it blocks accounts after a series of incorrect passwords, hackers find it difficult to use brute force.
Though a few attempts every hour won’t trigger an account block. Remember, just like websites enforce security measures, hackers, too, devise tricks to bypass these or find a vulnerability.
About password spraying, it is a type of brute force attack wherein, instead of targeting an account with a wide array of password combinations, hackers use the same password on different accounts.
This helps eliminate a common problem faced during a typical brute force attack, account blocking. Password spraying is highly unlikely to raise suspicion and is often found to be more successful than brute force.
It’s typically used when administrators set the default password. So, when hackers acquire the default password, they will try it out on different accounts, and users who haven’t changed theirs would be the first to lose account access.
How is Password Spraying different from Brute Force?
How do I prevent password brute force attacks?
Brute force attacks work when there are minimal security measures or an identifiable loophole in place. In the absence of the two, hackers would find it difficult to employ brute force to find out the correct login credentials.
Here are a few tips that would help both the server administrators and users prevent brute force attacks:
How do I protect against password spray attack?
When talking of Brute Force vs Password Spraying, preventive measures remain pretty much the same. Though since the latter works differently, a few additional tips might help.
Now that you know more about Password Spraying and Brute Force attacks, keep in mind that the best practice is to create stronger passwords, no matter the method.
This alone can prevent and block most of the vulnerabilities of your accounts. Pair that with aneffective password manager, and that will solidify your security and ease of access even more.
You should be aware thatan incredible number of passwords are hacked every day, and the only way to protect your data is through proper online hygiene and good preventive measures.
If you have any other tips that you want to share with the community, leave them in the comments section below.
More about the topics:Password issues,privacy,security threats
Kazim Ali Alvi
Windows Hardware Expert
Kazim has always been fond of technology, be it scrolling through the settings on his iPhone, Android device, or Windows PC. He’s specialized in hardware devices, always ready to remove a screw or two to find out the real cause of a problem.
Long-time Windows user, Kazim is ready to provide a solution for your every software & hardware error on Windows 11, Windows 10 and any previous iteration. He’s also one of our experts in Networking & Security.
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Kazim Ali Alvi
Windows Hardware Expert
Kazim is specialized in hardware devices, always ready to remove a screw or two to find out the real cause of a problem.
