What’s New in Elcomsoft System Recovery 8.34: More Data, Faster Imaging, BitLocker Key Extraction
April 29th, 2025 by Oleg Afonin
We updated Elcomsoft System Recovery to version 8.34. This release focuses on expanding the tool’s data acquisition capabilities, improving disk imaging performance, and adding BitLocker recovery key extraction for systems managed via Active Directory. Here’s a technical breakdown of the changes.
NAS Forensics: QNAP Encryption Analysis
December 23rd, 2020 by Oleg Afonin
A year ago, we analyzed the encryption used in Synology NAS devices. We were somewhat disappointed by the company’s choice to rely on a single encryption layer with multiple functional restrictions and security reservations. Today we are publishing the results of our analysis of data encryption used in QNAP devices. Spoiler: it’s very, very different.
iPhone Backups: Top 5 Default Passwords
December 22nd, 2020 by Vladimir Katalov
The iPhone backup is one of the hottest topics in iOS forensics. iTunes-style backups are the core of logical acquisition used by forensic specialists, containing overwhelming amounts of evidence that is is unrivaled on other platforms. The backups, as simple as they seem, have many “ifs” and “buts”, especially when it comes to password protection. We wrote a thousand and one articles about iOS backup passwords, but there is always something fresh that comes out. Today we have some new tips for you.
New Privacy Features: iOS 14.0 through 14.3
December 18th, 2020 by Oleg Afonin
Apple has long provided its users the tools to control how apps and Web sites use their personal data. The release of iOS 14 brought a number of new privacy features, while iOS 14.3 adds an important extra. At the same time, one of the most interesting privacy features is facing tough opposition from a group of digital advertising associations, making Apple postpone its implementation.
Breaking Passwords with NVIDIA RTX 3080 and 3090
December 17th, 2020 by Oleg Afonin
Today we have an important date. Advanced Office Password Recovery turned 16. What started as an instant recovery tool for legacy versions of Microsoft Word had now become a GPU-accelerated toolkit for breaking the many Microsoft formats. Today we’re releasing a major update, giving Advanced Office Password Recovery and Distributed Password Recovery tools the ability to crunch passwords faster with the newest and latest NVIDIA 3000-series graphic boards. Powered by Ampere, the new generation of GPUs delivers unprecedented performance in modern video games. How do the new cards fare when it comes to accelerating the password recovery, and is an upgrade worth it for the forensic experts? Let’s find out.
Recovering Screen Time Passwords
December 15th, 2020 by Vladimir Katalov
The Screen Time password has been long recommended as an extra security layer. By setting a Screen Time password without any additional restrictions, Apple users could easily dodge attempts of changing or removing the screen lock passcode, resetting the iTunes backup password, or removing the activation lock. For a long time, removing the Screen Time password was not possible without either providing the original password or erasing the device. However, Apple had changed the way it works, making it possible to reset the Screen Time password with an iCloud/Apple ID password.
Elcomsoft vs. Hashcat Part 4: Case Studies
December 9th, 2020 by Andrey Malyshev
This is the final part of the series of articles comparing Elcomsoft Distributed Password Recovery with Hashcat. We’ve already compared the features, the price and performance of the two tools. In this study, we tried breaking passwords to several common formats, including Word document, an encrypted ZIP archive, and a VeraCrypt container. We summarized our experiences below.
How to Remove The iPhone Passcode You Cannot Remove
December 8th, 2020 by Vladimir Katalov
From time to time, we stumble upon a weird issue that interferes with the ability to install a jailbreak. One of such problems appearing literally out of the blue is the issue of being unable to remove the screen lock password on some iPhone devices. What could be the reason and how to work around the issue? Read along to find out!
The Evolution of iOS Acquisition: Jailbreaks, Exploits and Extraction Agent
December 3rd, 2020 by Oleg Afonin
The past two years have become a turning point in iOS acquisition. The release of a bootrom-based exploit and the corresponding jailbreak made BFU acquisition possible on multiple devices regardless of security patches. Another exploit covers the entire iOS 13 range on all devices regardless of their hardware revision. ElcomSoft developed a jailbreak-free extraction method for the entire iOS 9.0-13.7 range. Let’s see what low-level acquisition options are available today, and when to use what.
iOS Extraction Without a Jailbreak: iOS 9 through iOS 13.7 on All Devices
December 3rd, 2020 by Vladimir Katalov
After adding jailbreak-free extraction for iOS 13.5.1 through 13.7, we now support every Apple device running any version of iOS from 9.0 through 13.7 with no gaps or exclusions. For the first time, full file system extraction and keychain decryption are possible on all devices running these iOS versions.
Elcomsoft vs. Hashcat Part 3: Attacks, Costs, Performance and Extra Features
December 2nd, 2020 by Andrey Malyshev
Elcomsoft Distributed Password Recovery and Hashcat support a number of different attacks ranging from brute-force all the way to scriptable, dictionary-based attacks. The costs and performance are extremely important factors. We charge several hundred dollars for what, in the end, can be done with a free tool. Which tool has better performance, and are the extra features worth the price premium? Let’s check it out.
