Password difficulty

[ThumperTM]

 

[cndps]

Password cracking is a bit hard but tools like HashCat makes the task more easier.

 

[DVDR_Dog]

That truly is a sport of patience. I hung around folks who did this for fun (?). It's like watching paint dry. A really good dictionary attack spread across multiple systems shortens the time but it depends what kind of beast you're dealing with.
There is usually some trick or tweak that can get you into some password protection. Forget these ransomware attacks. I haven't heard of any being cracked. Interpol usually busts the perps and they get the algorithm used to generate the passwords. Those are usually based on some unique aspects of the system under attack and run thru a series of complex mathematical formulas that produce a code. Darn near impossible to reverse engineer.