Cracking Simple LM Hashes
Many Windows XP systems used Lan Manager (LM) hashes to protect their passwords. This is a very old and outdated way to store password hashes. This hashing process was created for systems before Windows NT. Believe it or not, you can still find LM Hashes used in modern networks today. In this chapter we will look at cracking these simple LM (and some simple NTLM) hashes.
Microsoft’s support for Windows XP ended in 2014. As of Jan 2023, surprisingly enough around .5% of the world’s computers running Windows Operating Systems are still running it! XP is still holding on in the computer market share, just barely behind Windows 8, with Windows 10 still in first place. Shockingly what this means is that there are still a lot of Windows XP systems that could be in business-critical positions.
Source: Statcounter Global Stats – Feb, 20231
There are several different ways that computers encrypt their passwords. One of the most secure ways includes...