What Is Brute Force Attack?

Are you worried about the threats of your accounts being accessed by someone without your permission and want to keep your data secured? In this era of the internet, it has become hard to keep your data secure from unauthorized access. The most common method to check in the system of any person is the brute force attack. Keep reading because we are here with a comprehensive guide on this topic. 

Let's look at this hacking from the roots to understand what it is and how to keep your data safe. 

What is Brute Force Attack?

A brute force attack is a special kind of cyber-attack that a hacker does to extract the login information of any user. It is not done by using some particular keys to get access to any account. But a person uses almost all the keys of the keyboard to reach the accurate one.

The brute attack can also be used to open an encrypted file or folder with some user's confidential data. So, how does a hacker attacks a computer?

A hacker opens the browser that he wants to access unethically without the permission of the official user. He enters different usernames and passwords to find the accurate one. When he has eventually reached the final one, he can easily enter into your system and extract the data that he wants.

This kind of attack has become common in recent times. According to Verizon's investigation report, 80% of hacking cases were related to brute attacks reported in only 2020.

How Much Can A Brute Force Attack Harm Your Data?

Here is a brief answer for you to understand and take precautions properly. Such attackers can harm you more than your expectations. It is not an attack like other viruses that you can remove using Antivirus Software.

But this kind of attack has extra threats for you. He can steal your personal data or any valuable information. In turn, the hacker may blackmail you or perform unethical actions using your account.

In addition to personal data theft, a person can keep an eye on your activity to harm you in the future. Also, he can get complete control of your computer and do whatever he wants even without your knowledge.

It is not easy to understand the brute attack and its impacts unless you have enough information about its types. You must dive deep to get enough information to make a proper strategy and deal with such a problem.

Types Of Brute Force Attack

The brute attack has multiple kinds through which a hacker can accomplish this task. Here are the most used three types of this unethical acts that you should keep in mind to follow the upcoming tips.

· Simple Brute attack

It is a time-taking type of hacking in which a hacker does not follow any specific tool. He has nothing particular to put on the website like a username or password. He will use a random username or password that comes to his mind to reach the accurate one.

This type of attack is only used to decrypt simple and easy passwords like "Guest1234". Even a non-specialist can do this task as it does not need expertise.

· Hybrid Attack

A hybrid attack is not as easy as the simple attack. It is a combination of two types of brute attack named Simple attack and Dictionary attack. A hacker uses some particular dictionaries to know the encryption keys made with letters and special characters in this kind of hijacking.

A hacker does not do every step independently, but he follows some tools to generate random patterns of words and characters. Then they use all of those patterns for a specific username and try to unlock the account.

A hacker will know the person's username in a hybrid attack, but he tries to explore the password too.

· Credential Stuffing

Have you noticed that we set the same password and username for multiple websites most of the time? No doubt, it is easy to remember and log in to different websites with this step. But it might affect you when someone has your username and password for a single account.

Once a hacker accesses any of your accounts, he will try the same credentials on hundreds of other websites. If you have set the same credentials in all of your accounts, you will be in great trouble.

In this way, your ease will not be suitable for your security, but it will harm you badly. This kind of hacking is rare, but you have to take care of this to avoid any unexpected condition.

Tips To Avoid Or Defend The Brute Attack 

Almost every computer user thinks that he can get rid of this hacking as he does with other viruses. The brute force attack is not simple and easy to remove, even if you have an efficiently working antivirus program.

It is hard to get rid of this hijacking once a hacker has gained control of your system. So, you must adopt some tips to avoid the situation. Here are those tips that you must follow in this condition.

· Write Lengthy Password

Most of the time, we set a password having few characters, letters, or digits. We finalize our password in a maximum of 7 letters to avoid any unexpected conditions. Many times, we use our names or something like that to remember the password.

It is recommended to avoid this kind of password and write a long one for any of your accounts. Also, you should avoid using your name or any of your belongings. With this, you can reduce the chances of being hijacked with this kind of hacking.

· Use A Compound Password

For making a strong password, you should use a combination of alphabets, special characters, and numbers. It would be better to use all of these in an irregular pattern to keep your account safe. No doubt, it is difficult to remember such passwords.

So, you can note your password at any place where no one has access, likely in your diary. It will enable you to memorize your passcode as well as avoid unethical access to your data.

· Limit Attempts

Almost every website has a particular number of login limits, after which it will never accept credentials without validity. As we know, a brute attack is made by submitting different passwords and usernames to gain the right one.

When the hacker reaches the maximum limit, your account will get restricted. With this, you will be able to keep your account safe and your data secure.

· Activate All Authentication Methods

For the reliability of users, all platforms have some specific authentication settings to get a login. Such as, Google has an option of mobile number authentication method to keep you secure. Similarly, most websites have the same process of authenticity.

So, you must turn this factor on and submit your contact number accurately. With this, you will get a specific authentication code that you have to submit to sign in to your account. By enabling this factor, no one will access your account unless he has used that code.

By utilizing these steps, you can keep your account and data secured from unauthorized access. We recommend you should use all of these tips while setting up your account.

Summarizing Up

It will be pretty hard to get rid of a brute force attack if you have not set up the password and username correctly. So, set the password with different letters and symbols and keep it confidential. Learn about hacking systems and their defends to be ready for any concerning situation.