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EC-Council

312-50V13 · Question #130

When discussing passwords, what is considered a brute force attack?

The correct answer is A. You attempt every single possibility until you exhaust all possible combinations or discover the. A brute force attack systematically attempts every possible combination of characters until the correct password or key is found.

Submitted by packet_pusher· Mar 6, 2026System Hacking

Question

When discussing passwords, what is considered a brute force attack?

Options

  • AYou attempt every single possibility until you exhaust all possible combinations or discover the
  • BYou threaten to use the rubber hose on someone unless they reveal their password
  • CYou load a dictionary of words into your cracking program
  • DYou create hashes of a large number of words and compare it with the encrypted passwords
  • EYou wait until the password expires

How the community answered

(58 responses)
  • A
    90% (52)
  • B
    5% (3)
  • C
    2% (1)
  • E
    3% (2)

Why each option

A brute force attack systematically attempts every possible combination of characters until the correct password or key is found.

AYou attempt every single possibility until you exhaust all possible combinations or discover theCorrect

A brute-force attack involves systematically checking all possible passwords or passphrases by trying every conceivable character combination until the correct one is discovered or the entire keyspace is exhausted.

BYou threaten to use the rubber hose on someone unless they reveal their password

Threatening someone for a password is a form of social engineering or coercion, not a technical brute force attack.

CYou load a dictionary of words into your cracking program

Loading a dictionary of words into a cracking program describes a dictionary attack, which is a specific type of attack distinct from a brute force attack.

DYou create hashes of a large number of words and compare it with the encrypted passwords

Creating hashes of words and comparing them with encrypted passwords describes a rainbow table attack or a dictionary attack against hashes, not the definition of a brute force attack itself.

EYou wait until the password expires

Waiting for a password to expire is a passive observation of an account's state, not an active attack to discover the password.

Concept tested: Brute force attack definition

Source: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/defender-endpoint/glossary?view=o365-worldwide#brute-force-attack

Topics

#brute-force attack#password cracking#password security

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