Removing the BIOS Administrator Password on a ThinkPad Takes Timing

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://hackaday.com/2026/02/15/removing-the-bios-administrator-password-on-a-thinkpad-takes-timing/

If you are:

• "abusing" hashcat --stdout or other cracking tools (or bulk string-generation tools) using GNU parallel, and

• you're producing highly duplicate output per process, and

• you need to do low-memory, best-effort dedupe in parallel, per process prior to passing the aggregated output to a final dedupe

... the dedupe tool included in CynosurePrime's rling repo:
https://github.com/Cynosureprime/rling

... really does the trick! Just do:

[parallel stuff] '[cmd] | dedupe' | final-process-thing

Thanks, @Waffle_Real !

#PasswordCracking

Allow us to reintroduce ourselves. The Hashcracky is a community hash cracking site for people of all skill levels. We host realistic time-locked password-cracking events designed to be fun and competitive for the cybersecurity and cryptographic communities with an arcade-inspired theme.

Hashcracky is created by cybersecurity professionals and teaches the skill of hash recovery. We focus on teaching the methodologies of hash cracking and providing a safe environment to study cybersecurity. Every hash is synthetic, so you can push your skills to the edge. Race the clock, collect loot, and battle your peers on a live leaderboard that only a select few ever reach.

We will be using this account to communicate events, winners, and other opportunities related to the community.

Great meeting you, and thanks for reading.
https://hashcracky.com/login

#introduction #hashcracky <- #jabbercracky #ctf #cybersecurity #passwordcracking #passwords

🔑 Password Security Tools – Awareness & Defense Guide 🛡️

Weak or reused passwords remain one of the biggest security risks. Security researchers and penetration testers use password auditing tools (in labs and authorized tests only) to identify vulnerabilities and help organizations enforce stronger authentication.

💡 Commonly Used Tools (Ethical Context Only):
1️⃣ John the Ripper – Classic password auditing tool for multiple formats.
2️⃣ Hashcat – GPU-powered password recovery tool, extremely fast.
3️⃣ Hydra – Network login password tester (SSH, FTP, RDP, HTTP, etc.).
4️⃣ Medusa – Parallel, modular password tester.
5️⃣ Cain & Abel (Legacy) – Windows password recovery & testing suite.

🛡️ Defense Strategies:
✔️ Enforce strong password policies (length, complexity, uniqueness).
✔️ Require Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA/2FA).
✔️ Regularly audit credentials and remove old accounts.
✔️ Use password managers to reduce reuse.
✔️ Monitor for credential leaks in threat intelligence feeds.

🌟 Why It Matters:
Password cracking tools highlight the danger of weak credentials. By understanding them, defenders can build stronger authentication systems and prevent breaches.

⚠️ Disclaimer:
This content is for educational and awareness purposes only. Password cracking tools should only be used in authorized environments with explicit permission. Unauthorized use is illegal and unethical.

#CyberSecurity #PasswordSecurity #InfoSec #EthicalHacking #PenTesting #BlueTeam #PasswordCracking #SecurityAwareness #EthicalTech #Authentication

So atom, main developer of @hashcat, used the "rapid prototyping in Python" plugin of the new "assimilation bridge" in the new hashcat 7¹, with some success in our DEF CON password CTF win this past weekend (hosted by @jabbercracky).

Afterwards, atom realized it would make a good case study for how to use the new feature, so he wrote it up:

https://hashcat.net/forum/thread-13346.html

If you do exploration of mystery hash types (either for CTFs, or in the real world) ... this approach should absolutely be in your toolbox.

¹Note that some work was done during the contest to make the Python bridge plugin better for these use cases; next minor release of 7 will have it, or grab hashcat.net/beta/ or the latest GitHub main branch.

#PasswordCracking #HashCracking
#hashcat #hashcat7