
Strong, randomized passwords cannot be easily predicted, and they are highly unlikely to be included in the predetermined password library. However, a brute-force attack can take a long time to produce results. In systems with strong password requirements, the brute-force method of attack, in which every possible combination of characters and spaces is tested up to a certain maximum length, can sometimes be effective. These attacks are usually unsuccessful against systems using multiple-word passwords and are also often unsuccessful against passwords made up of uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers in random combinations. A dictionary attack can also be used in an attempt to find the key necessary to decrypt an encrypted message or document.ĭictionary attacks work because many computer users and businesses insist on using ordinary words as passwords. A dictionary attack is a method of breaking into a password-protected computer, network or other IT resource by systematically entering every word in a dictionary as a password.
