GPU Cracking: Building the Box

Are rainbow tables still worth it for LM hashes? NetSPI compares table lookups with GPU brute force, explaining the format's two case-insensitive seven-character halves that favor GPU cracking.

The final GPU cracking series post gathers common hash sources, such as LM/NTLM from SAM and SYSTEM files, plus cracking methods and strategies — a beginner's guide to a working cracking setup.

Analyzes cracked NTLM domain hashes from a year of penetration tests to publish the top ten password masks, dominated by seasonal patterns like Spring15 and Fall2015.

NetSPI refreshes its GPU cracking hardware two years on: a mining-rig case for dev, a rack-mounted production box, ASRock's six-slot H81 PRO BTC motherboard, and cheap USB 3.0 risers.

NetSPI reviews its 2014 cracking stats: of 90,977 collected Windows domain hashes, 85.52% cracked, with seasonal patterns like Spring2014, Password1, and company-name variants dominating the hits.

NetSPI's Q3 2014 cracking report: of 26,692 collected domain hashes, 82.25% cracked, with eight-character passwords peaking, 348 blank passwords found, and the top mask pattern seen 1,415 times.