John the Ripper
A fast password cracker.
Overview
John the Ripper is a fast password cracker, available for many flavors of Unix, Windows, DOS, and OpenVMS. Its primary purpose is to detect weak Unix passwords. Besides several crypt(3) password hash types most commonly found on various Unix flavors, supported out of the box are Kerberos/AFS and Windows LM hashes, plus hundreds of additional hashes and ciphers in '-jumbo' versions.
✨ Key Features
- Supports hundreds of hash and cipher types
- Autodetects password hash types
- Multiple cracking modes (dictionary, brute-force, etc.)
- Highly customizable rules
- Cross-platform support
🎯 Key Differentiators
- Ease of use and automatic hash detection
- Broad platform support
- Highly configurable cracking rules
Unique Value: Provides a powerful and flexible tool for auditing and recovering passwords.
🎯 Use Cases (3)
✅ Best For
- Cracking weak passwords from hash dumps
- Testing the strength of password policies
- Auditing password security
💡 Check With Vendor
Verify these considerations match your specific requirements:
- Online password attacks
- Network vulnerability scanning
🏆 Alternatives
While Hashcat is often faster due to GPU acceleration, John the Ripper is known for its ease of use and CPU-based performance.
💻 Platforms
✅ Offline Mode Available
🛟 Support Options
- ✓ Email Support
- ✓ Dedicated Support (Pro tier)
💰 Pricing
Free tier: The core John the Ripper is free and open-source.
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