Utilizing the Dark Side For Good: Hash Suite

Today let's talk about Hash Suite and the ideals behind effectively utilizing it. You can use this as a learning moment for friends, family, and (with written permission!) your workcenter! Best of all, you don't need to directly use someone's passwords to make this point: it comes with dozens of passwords for you to demonstrate! Cherry on top? The program is free. Head over to the website and download the free version. Once downloaded and installed, we can begin!

First, head to the top left of the window and click the key chain icon. Once there, hover over import and then click File.

Once the file explorer window opens, go ahead and select the folder that Hash Suite is in. Then, go to Samples and select any of the text files. In my image you can see I am showcasing the first text document.

Once back in the main Hash Suite window, head over to the top left again and this time click the green start arrow. Then, sit back for a bit as this will take a while. For me, it took at least 10 minutes to crack the first two. The time this takes will depend on two things: how powerful your computer is, and how complex the passwords you are attempting to crack are.

How cool is that? Make sure you play around with the settings on the left to adjust how you want the program to crack the passwords. Again, this is for educational purposes only and should be utilized to showcase how important it is to have strong passwords. I strongly advise you to only use this tool ethically, and with permission and consent of all parties involved. Using this tool unethically to crack someone's password is not only morally reprehensible, it is illegal. On that note: Don't re-use your passwords! Get a password manager, your attack surface will be that much smaller. That's all for today, have (responsible) fun!