Which type of password cracking technique uses pre-computed hash tables?

The correct answer is B. Rainbow table attack. Rainbow table attacks use pre-computed hash tables that map plaintext passwords to their hash values, allowing attackers to reverse a hash instantly by lookup rather than computing hashes on the fly. Brute force (A) tries every possible character combination in real time with no

Attacks and Countermeasures

Question

Options

ABrute force attack
BRainbow table attack
CDictionary attack
DHybrid attack

How the community answered

(24 responses)

A
4% (1)
B
92% (22)
C
4% (1)

Explanation

Rainbow table attacks use pre-computed hash tables that map plaintext passwords to their hash values, allowing attackers to reverse a hash instantly by lookup rather than computing hashes on the fly. Brute force (A) tries every possible character combination in real time with no pre-computation. Dictionary attacks (C) hash common words at runtime against the target - no pre-computation involved. Hybrid attacks (D) combine dictionary words with brute-force mutations (e.g., appending numbers), also computed live.

Memory tip: Think of a rainbow as something you see before the storm ends - rainbow tables are built before the attack happens. The "pre" in pre-computed = "before" = rainbow.

Topics

#Rainbow tables#Password cracking#Hash tables#Pre-computed hashes

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