User:Sweetsunshineaz/sandbox

Password Sniffing - is any computer software that monitors traffic on a network to extract information; with its primary goal is to find passwords. As the data flows through the network the individual packets of data are examined to identify passwords. Passwords can be in plain text or encrypted, a decryption program may be needed to pull passwords out of the encrypted data. Passwords are vulnerable to sniffing any time they are sent across a network like: remote access, checking email, or logging into a social networking account. Vulnerable protocols that are more at risk for password sniffing include: HTTP, FTP, POP3, IMAP and SMTP. The password sniffing software doesn’t always have a malicious intent, it can be used by individuals to help store and recover forgotten passwords. Malicious and illegal password sniffing is done to collect passwords to gain access to sensitive data, to exploit someone or to steal someone’s personal information. Some malware and spyware come with password sniffing as part of the program.

Contents 1 Password Sniffing Tools 2 How to protect passwords 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Password Sniffing Tools Password sniffing tools like Wireshark can be used to help sniff out passwords. When we use our computers to log into sites data is passed back and forth over the network, this is called a POST request. With Wireshark, users can look for a post request to find usernames and passwords in plain text unless a secured HTTPS connection is used, which encrypts the data. Most sites use HTTPS as default for communication between your browser and their servers. However, HTTPS may not be used for cookies and these small strings of text can be used to track behavior and identify servers that you’ve logged into. If the right cookie is hijacked then someone else can masquerade as you without your username or password.

Other password sniffing tools •	Dsniff •	Arpspoof •	Webspy •	Filesnarf •	Dnsspoof •	Macoff •	Ace Password Sniffer

How to protect passwords Users should always use HTTPS protocols and sites to help protect their data with encrypted text. Organizations can do penetration testing to sniff out passwords when user connects to a network to help examine how secure they are against password cracking attacks. Furthermore, organizations can take countermeasures against Password Sniffing to help protect themselves. Network switches can be used instead of network hubs to segment a network and create virtual LAN’s. A program like SSH can provide strong authentication and secure communication over an unsecure network. Organizations can establish one-time passwords, token cards and smart cards which change constantly and are never the same twice and are only valid for that moment, making them worthless for password sniffing.

See also Malware Packet Analyzer

References What is Password Sniffing? WiseGEEK. Retrieved January 3, 2015. http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-password-sniffing.htm Pash, A., (October 26, 2011) A Guide to Sniffing Out Passwords and Cookies (and How to Protect Yourself Against It http://lifehacker.com/5853483/a-guide-to-sniffing-out-passwords-and-cookies-and-how-to-protect-yourself-against-it What is sniffer and how to detect sniffing in computer network.  Retrieved January 3, 2015 http://www.aboutonlinetips.com/sniffer-types-and-protecting-against-sniffing/ EC-Council  (2010). Penetration Testing: Procedures & Methodologies. Cengage Learning.  P 9-6 John E. Canavan (2001).  Fundamentals of Network Security.  Artech House. P  134 -138

External links NirSoft http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/password_sniffer.html