‘ZIP’ is a common format for bundling multiple files into a single compressed file. ZIP password crackers attempt to recover passwords from ZIP archives by trying a series of possible passwords. If you need to open a secured ZIP archive and don’t have the password, these two ZIP password crackers might be able to help.
Passper for ZIP
The first tool we will look at is called Passper for ZIP. This tool has four modes to crack ZIP passwords, with brute-force, dictionary, combination, and mask attacks.
Once started, Passper for ZIP presents you with a simple graphical interface. Simply add your .zip (or .zipx) file and select the mode you would like to attempt, then click on “Recover”. The program will now start testing passwords against your file or requesting further information, depending on the method you pick.
When I tested this program on my laptop using the “brute-force” attack mode, I was able to get it up to around 30,000 guesses per second while decrypting an AES-256 ZIP file, implying that a 5-character password, no matter how complicated, can be cracked within three~four days.
Passper for ZIP has many options you can configure, including length of password to try, whether or not you want numbers included in passwords, how many combinations of characters to include in each guess, and so on. If you select dictionary attack, it will automatically download some dictionary files for you, but you can also add your own.
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This program works on Windows Vista or newer operating systems, but there’s no Mac version available yet.
John the Ripper
John the Ripper is a free, open-source password cracker and can be run on a variety of platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Unix. It can be used to recover passwords from a variety of different file formats, including ZIP files. It can even be used to break into administrator accounts.
This command line application uses brute force and dictionary attacks to try to recover passwords, and it includes a number of options that allow you to customize its behavior. John the Ripper is fast and configurable, making it an ideal choice for recovering lost ZIP passwords.
But because John requires more computer knowledge to use, many people would choose a different program such as Passper for ZIP over John. It’s a good idea to test both of these tools before you need them. If you can’t remember the password for a ZIP file, these two tools have your back.
