HOW EASILY CAN YOUR PASSWORD BE HACKED QUESTION
Moderators: kgudger, bfinio, Moderators
-
Awesomemotitas
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 6:01 pm
- Occupation: Student
HOW EASILY CAN YOUR PASSWORD BE HACKED QUESTION
Hi! I'm doing the science project Password Security: How Easily Can Your Password Be Hacked but I do not understand how I can use the Science Buddies python program to use one of the methods for my experiment... My project is due Wendsday and we're having trouble trying to complete the experiment due to that. PLEASE HELP!
-
HowardE
- Posts: 496
- Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2014 1:35 pm
- Occupation: Science Buddies content developer
- Project Question: N/A
- Project Due Date: N/A
- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: HOW EASILY CAN YOUR PASSWORD BE HACKED QUESTION
Hi Awesomemotitas. The program as provided has several 'methods' that will each try a different method to guess a password. To guess one, you tell it which of the 6 you want it to guess and it tries all of the methods until it gets it or fails. You can use one of the 5 passwords we provide in encrypted form or simply put your own in as password 0. That one is tested in unencrypted form.
So let's say you have a new method. You pick 100 random letters and numbers and put them together into one big string. Then you loop around 100 times, first trying the first character, then the first two, then the first three, and so on until you've tried the whole 100 character string. (I will tell you that this is a horrible method and will never guess anything).
You'd write up a Python program in the style of the other 4 methods and call it method 5. Then change the main() procedure so that it does this first:
# Try my awesome guessing method
if not foundit:
foundit = search_method_5()
I would start by putting in a password it can guess easily and put that in as password 0. Watch your algorithm work by putting in Print() statements. Once you're satisfied that it's working, have a friend who doesn't know your algorithm make up a password and put that in as password 0. Then see if it can quickly guess any of the passwords 1 through 6.
If you're still stuck, describe your algorithm and post any code you've written - maybe I can give you a little push.
Howard
So let's say you have a new method. You pick 100 random letters and numbers and put them together into one big string. Then you loop around 100 times, first trying the first character, then the first two, then the first three, and so on until you've tried the whole 100 character string. (I will tell you that this is a horrible method and will never guess anything).
You'd write up a Python program in the style of the other 4 methods and call it method 5. Then change the main() procedure so that it does this first:
# Try my awesome guessing method
if not foundit:
foundit = search_method_5()
I would start by putting in a password it can guess easily and put that in as password 0. Watch your algorithm work by putting in Print() statements. Once you're satisfied that it's working, have a friend who doesn't know your algorithm make up a password and put that in as password 0. Then see if it can quickly guess any of the passwords 1 through 6.
If you're still stuck, describe your algorithm and post any code you've written - maybe I can give you a little push.
Howard