Hashcat

Hashcat is a powerful computer tool used for cracking passwords by testing many possible combinations very quickly. It works on hashed data—special, encrypted versions of passwords—trying to find the original password by comparing various guesses. Often used by security professionals to evaluate and improve password security, Hashcat leverages the processing power of graphics cards (GPUs) to perform these calculations efficiently. While it can help identify weak passwords, its use should always be ethical and authorized, aligning with security testing and protection efforts.