Modern wireless networks are securely protected with WPA/WPA2. The most frequently used method of securing access to a wireless network is pre-shared passphrase, or, simply put, a text password. The WPA standard enforces the minimum length of 8 characters for all Wi-Fi passwords. Considering the relatively low performance of WPA/WPA2 password attacks, brute force attacks are rarely effective even when performed with a network of GPU-accelerated computers. In this article, I will show how to attack wireless passwords for the purpose of security audit.

We released a major update to Elcomsoft Wireless Security Auditor, a tool for corporate customers to probe wireless network security. Major addition in this release is the new Wi-Fi sniffer, which now supports the majority of general-use Wi-Fi adapters (as opposed to only allowing the use of a dedicated AirPCap adapter). The built-in Wi-Fi sniffer is a component allowing the tool to automatically intercept wireless traffic, save Wi-Fi handshake packet and perform an accelerated attack on the original WPA/WPA2-PSK password.

I know most computer gurus and pros never read through program manuals or help files and prefer to learn everything using proverbial method of trial and error. Does this sound like you? Of course. Exceptions are very seldom. So, here’s something nice that will save your time and help your experience with Elcomsoft Wireless Security Auditor (EWSA).

Attacking Wi-Fi passwords is near hopeless if a wireless hotspot is properly secured. Today’s wireless security algorithms such as WPA are using cryptographically sound encryption with long passwords. The standard enforces the use of passwords that are at least 8 characters long. Encryption used to protect wireless communications is tough and very slow to break. Brute-forcing WPA/WPA2 PSK passwords remains a hopeless enterprise even if a horde of GPU’s is employed. Which is, in general, good for security – but may as well inspire a false sense of security if a weak, easy to guess password is selected.

Although this new book is on sale from January this year, we are happy to officially say our words of gratitude to Kevin Beaver and advise it to you.

 As the second summer month is coming to an end, it’s time to sum up our news and updates that you might have missed because of vacation in some tropical heaven. Last two weeks brought us really hot days, not only because of the temperature in Moscow City but also due to hard work on program updates. Here is the news:

ATI Stream Developer Showcase enrolled our Elcomsoft Wireless Security Auditor in its security section, among other “notable applications” that use ATI Stream technology:

All modern AMD and Intel processors are 64-bit and corresponding Windows versions are also on the market. It is highly recommended to use 64-bit systems (though 32-bit systems perfectly work on 64-bit processors) because in this case more than 3 Gb RAM can be employed, and today we have lots and lots of 64-bit systems, so it’s getting more and more critical. (more…)

A number of D-link routers are now equipped with captcha feature. Sounds interesting.