a dictionary attack

Meaning

1. 1nouncountablecomputingtechnical

   A way of guessing a password by trying many common words from a list until one works.

   Grammar: Countable: use 'a' or a plural, as in 'a dictionary attack' or 'these dictionary attacks'.

   Patterns

   • launch a dictionary attack on something
   • protect against a dictionary attack
   • a dictionary attack succeeds/fails

   The hackers used a dictionary attack to break into the account.

   A long password with numbers and symbols is much harder to crack with a dictionary attack.

   Their security team blocked the dictionary attack after a few minutes.

Word forms

Common combinations

launch a dictionary attack

The group launched a dictionary attack against the login page.

a dictionary attack on a system

A dictionary attack on the system failed because the passwords were random.

protect against a dictionary attack

Adding a lockout rule helps protect against a dictionary attack.

a successful dictionary attack

A successful dictionary attack can expose thousands of accounts.

Synonyms and how they differ

brute-force attack

A brute-force attack tries every possible combination, not just common words, so it is slower but more thorough.

password guessing

This is the everyday phrase for the same idea and is less technical than 'dictionary attack'.

Word family

dictionary noun

A list of words with their meanings, which gives this attack its name.

Commonly confused: a dictionary attack or dictionary?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “a dictionary attack”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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