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What is a (DOS) Command Prompt & How to Run it in CMD? Explore easy commands to get work done on your PC quickly556
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CMD or Command Prompt is a command line interface known as Windows Command Processor.
Command Prompt commands can help you perform many operations without using a mouse.
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Command Prompt is popular among normal users as well as professionals. It is a great way to complete your mundane tasks on the computer. It can run several commands, automate your tasks, and allow you to operate your PC via commands.
This guide will talk about DOS Command Prompt, how to use it, and the most popular commands you must know. Let’s begin!
What is DOS Command Prompt?Command Prompt is often called MS-DOS or the DOS prompt, but it is incorrect. Command Prompt is a program replicating command line abilities in MS-DOS but can’t be referred to as DOS.
How can I use Command Prompt?You can use Command Prompt for various tasks, including checking and repairing system errors, moving a file, removing viruses, and creating a bootable media drive. All you need to do is fire up Command Prompt, type in the correct command, and press Enter to execute it.
To access Command Prompt, follow these steps:
What are the most used commands on Command Prompt?Before going through the popular command line utilities, make sure you keep these things in mind:
First, always run the command prompt as Administrator to avoid any error.
Please type or paste the command as mentioned for it to work properly
Press Enter after every command for it to execute.
Let’s check out some of the most used and helpful commands that you can keep handy:
1. PingTo check whether there is network connectivity and reachability on your device, you can type the following command:
ping (website address)
2. System File CheckerSFC scan is a scan and repair tool that scans your computer for corrupt or missing files. Also, it replaces the damaged files with cached copies saved by the computer.
sfc/scannow
3. DISMDeployment Image Servicing and Management fixes damaged or corrupted Windows operating system files and features directly via Windows online servers.
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
4. Installed drivers listTo get the list of installed device drivers on your computer, you can type the following command
driverquery
5. Setup remote connectionWith the below-mentioned command-line shell command, you can establish connections to remote computers or remote desktop session host servers. mstsc /v:192.168.122.20
To launch and edit the RDP configuration file chúng tôi type this command: mstsc /edit hostconnection.rdp
6. Change the DirectoryThe command, when executed, helps you change the current working directory. In other words, with this, you can navigate to another folder on your computer.
7. Rename the fileREN and Rename are the same commands, and these are used interchangeably to rename a file or folder.
ren “original_filename.ext” “new_filename.ext”
8. Power ConfigurationThe command shows your computer’s power settings. It helps you manage and track the way your PC uses energy.
Detailed power consumption report of your computer powercfg /energy
Point out the device that woke your PC from sleep powercfg /lastwake
9. Boot in troubleshooting modeThis command can restart your PC and take you to the Advanced Start Options menu for troubleshooting.
shutdown/ r/o
10. System Information
If you want to know the system-related information, including OS, network card, System model, type, hostname, processor, etc., use this command:
systeminfo
11. Check DiskIf you want to check the drive’s file system integrity and repair the file system and problematic drive errors, this command can help you.
chkdsk
12. Manage ProgramsYou can get a list of installed programs on your computer and
You can get a list of installed programs on your computer and uninstall the programs you don’t need.
List of installed products wmic product get name
Expert tip:
13. Restore Network SettingsIn case there is a network connection issue and you want to troubleshoot the network. These commands can help:
ipconfig
Clears all the IP addresses from the cache ipconfig /flushdns
Register DNS again ipconfig /registerdns
Release the IP address for the specific adapter ipconfig /release
Renew the IP address for the particular adapter ipconfig /renew
14. Check Wi-Fi PasswordThis command helps you check the password for your wired or wireless connections.
Replace SSID with your Wi-Fi name to get your Wi-Fi password netsh wlan show profile SSID key=clear
15. Delete Temp filesThis command helps you retrieve space on your computer by removing temporary files.
del /q /f /s %temp%*
del /s /q C:Windowstemp*
16. Close TasksThis command can be used to force stop a program or process. Replace executablename with the program or process name you want to kill.
taskkill /IM executablename
17. Compare FilesIf you want to compare a file via its content and see the modifications made over time. Replace File 1 and File 2 with the actual file’s name.
FC File chúng tôi File 2.txt
18. List of TasksIt shows the tasks running on your PC.
Tasklist
19. Network StatisticsIt shows you all the details of the active TCP connections.
NETSTAT
20. Hide/Unhide your foldersWith this command, you can hide your important folders, and CMD can only reaccess these hidden folders.
Hide folder Attrib +h +s +r "folder_name"
Unhide Folder Attrib -h -s -r "folder_name"
21. View or Modify File ExtensionsThis command shows you the file format and extensions of all files on your computer.
Assoc
Modify the extensions assoc .txt=.pdf
22. Cipher: Delete Data PermanentlyThis command permanently wipes the data on a drive by writing random data. To do so, type the following command. Instead of C, type the desired drive.
cipher/w:c
23. Memory Diagnostic toolIf there is a problem with your RAM, you can run Windows Memory Diagnostic tool. Type the command mentioned and follow the on-screen instructions.
Mdsched
24. Virtual KeyboardIf you want to open the on-screen keyboard. Type osk
25. System RestoreWith the command mentioned, you can launch the backup and restore the window to either create a backup or restore from the backup.
rstrui.exe
That’s it! These are some of the most useful DOS command prompt commands you can use to troubleshoot or perform daily tasks on your computer.
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Top 10 Windows Command Prompt Commands – Webnots
Microsoft developed Windows interface from the command line based disk operating system (DOS). But still you can use the command prompt as a command line utility in Windows. These commands are really helpful to perform daily operations. In this article, let us show you top 10 command prompt commands which can make your Windows experience much better. In Windows 10, Microsoft will show you Windows PowerShell option instead of Command Prompt and you will have Windows Terminal app in Windows 11. You can perform all the below commands both from Windows PowerShell and Command Prompt.
Top 10 Windows Command Prompt CommandsGiven below is the list of 10 popular command prompt commands. They are not case sensitive, so you can use capital or small letters when typing them.
1. ipconfigOne of the popular commands in CMD (Command prompt) in your PC. Ipconfig allows you to check the IP address configuration of your PC. You can also modify the computer’s IP address with this command.
Go to the ‘Start’ and type ‘CMD’ and hit the ‘Enter’ key from the keyboard.
To view the full IP configuration of your system, use ‘ipconfig /all’ command.
IPconfig Command
If the system has its IP address from a DHCP server then to release the IP address, use ‘ipconfig /release’ command.
Similarly, use the ‘ipconfig /renew’ command to renew the IP address.
To flush the DNS server, use the ‘ipconfig /flushdns’. it is very useful when a system has incorrect DNS addresses.
2. System File CheckerThis command is sometimes a lifesaver. Sometimes, a malicious software replaces or damage the core files of the system. This command helps to make sure that everything is fine on your system. If you feel system files are corrupted on your PC then run this command from the command prompt.
System Scan
3. Driver QueryTo know more about your drivers installed in the system, there is a specific driver query for it. You can actually get a list of all the drivers currently running on your PC. To do this:
In the ‘Command Prompt‘, type ‘driverquery’ and hit the ‘Enter’ key.
You’ll be able to see the name of the module, its driver type, the date and time.
Driver Query
4. Ping and PathpingThis command is one of the simplest command ever. It is used to check the connectivity of the host with our PC. This command uses an IP address of the host to get in action.
In your Command Prompt, type ‘ping 192.168.0.189’ and hit the ‘Enter’ key.
IP address here should be of the PC to which you want to check the connectivity.
After completion, it will show you the stats for that IP address like packets sent and received.
In case, if the ping command fails, there is always a second option with ‘pathping’. If the PCs are connected with more than one routers then use this command. It will send packets to each router that is in the way of the IP address you are pinging and compute the stats. To use this command:
Type ‘pathping 192.168.0.189’ in your CMD and hit the ‘Enter’ key.
It will take some time to compute the stats and show the name of the host.
Ping and Pathping
5. Tasklist and TaskkillThis command tells you the tasks which are currently running on your system. It provides you with a list of tasks by typing the following command:
Type ‘tasklist’ in your CMD and press the ‘Enter’ key.
To display all the DLL modules regarding the task running, use the ‘tasklist -m’ command.
Tasklist
To view the services that support the running task, type ‘tasklist -svc’ command.
If you want to terminate the currently running task then use the ‘taskkill’ command to end it. The name of the command says all of it. To end a specific task, you have to enter its PID (Process ID) or IM (Image name).
In your CMD, type ‘taskkill -pid 1808’ and hit the ‘Enter’ key.
Similarly, use the image name, ‘taskkill – im svchost.exe’ to end that task.
6. nslookupThis command is used to check the nameserver of the given host. All you need is the hostname, which is referred as website name or domain name.
NSlookup
7. Signature VerificationMost of the software is digitally signed for the Windows 10. But still many out there are not. File signature verification is a tool which can be launch via command line interface but it will use to GUI interface.
Type ‘sigverif’ and press the ‘Enter’ key.
A prompt will open up and you can ‘Start’ it to check the verification of the system files.
Signature Verification
8. Command HistoryTo track the command history in your command prompt, use this command. This command basically shows you the complete history of the commands used in CMD in the current session.
Simply, type the ‘doskey /history’ and press the ‘Enter’.
It brings you a list of all the commands right there.
Command History
9. netstatThis command is useful when you want to know the active connections and their ports with your PC.
Type ‘netstat’ and hit the ‘Enter’ key.
A list of active connections with a local address and their ports will appear right there.
Netstat
10. cipherTo permanently delete/overwrite a directory, use the cipher command in command prompt. This is mostly used for the encryption purposes but it can be used to free up space on the hard drive. Please note that if you use this command, no data from the drive can be recovered again. To use this command:
Type ‘cipher /w:D:’ and hit the ‘Enter’ key.
There is no space between the drive (/w:) and (D:) and be careful while using this command.
Cipher Command
What Is The Command Key On Windows Keyboard?
The command key is known by many names, cmd key or the Apple key. However, it is only known to those who are familiar with the Apple ecosystem. As for Windows users, it might sound foreign.
The alternative to the Command key makes no sense for someone who has recently switched from Mac to Windows. But, thankfully, there is a solution.
Is There a Command Button on the Windows Keyboard?There is no command button on a Windows-based keyboard. The closest buttons that work similarly to the Cmd key are:
Start/Windows key with the Windows logo label
Control key with Ctrl label
How to Do a Command Key on a Windows Keyboard?The command key is mostly used to perform routine shortcuts on a Mac. To access the same shortcut on a Windows keyboard, you can use the Control key. The ctrl key can be used similarly to the command key. Here are a few examples.
ShortcutOn Mac keyboardOn Windows keyboardPrintCommand + PControl + PSaveCommand + SControl + SCopyCommand + CControl + CPasteCommand + VControl + VSelect allCommand + AControl + A
Where Is the Command Key on the Windows Keyboard?There is no command key on the Windows keyboard. If you connect a Windows keyboard to a Mac system, the computer does what we call a key substitution. This means that the command key is mapped to a different key on the Windows keyboard. Unless changed, the Command key can be achieved by pressing the Control or Ctrl key on your keyboard.
How to Map the Command Key on a Windows Keyboard?By default, the command key is mapped to the Control key. Or, you can map it to a different modifier key by following these steps on a Mac OS.
Go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
Select Keyboard.
On the Keyboard tab, select Modifier Keys.
Select the keyboard that you want to change the mapping for.
Select the dropdown list next to the Command key and choose a different option.
Test your new command key to suit your needs.
Note that, Whichever key you map it to, make sure that key isn’t being used by a different modifier key. For example, if you map the command key to the option then make sure the option key is mapped to the command.
How to Change the Command Key on Windows?To change the command key on windows, follow these steps.
Download and install the Mouse and Keyboard Center by Microsoft.
Open the app from the Start Menu.
Select the command key that you want to change.
Select the target key.
If your keyboard is not detected by the app, use this software called SharpKeys to change the key. This app is works on all versions of Windows including Windows 11.
Open SharpKeys from the Start Menu.
Select Add.
Under the From key, scroll down and select Left Ctrl.
Under the To key, select a different key such as Left Windows or Fn.
Press OK.
How to Fix the Command Key Not Working on the Windows Keyboard?If the command key is not working, first you need to check if the key is physically damaged. By default, the system maps the command key to the Control key.
Use an online checker like this to press the key on your keyboard. If the on-screen button doesn’t light up, the button is physically inaccessible. Using SharpKeys, you can map the command key to a different button instead. Just make sure that the From key is set to Left Ctrl and change the To key to a working button.
There are tons of keyboard mapping apps available online. This website lists some popular alternatives to SharpKeys.
How to Disable the Command Key on Windows?Windows does not provide a built-in method to disable the command key. There are many third-party apps that make disabling easier. SharpKeys is primarily used to map the command key on Windows. But, we can also use it to disable the key entirely. Make sure that the To key is mapped to Turn Key Off at the beginning of the list.
What Is A Follow Train?
A follow train (also known as a follow chain or a follow for follow group) is a group of people who follow each other on a social media platform (e.g Instagram, Twitter, TikTok).
Participating in a follow train is a popular method used by many to grow their social media followers (especially Instagram).
Follow trains help you to grow your social media followers quickly and easily.
The follow train is originated from Instagram back in its early days, and it’s still very popular in the present for one reason—it works.
How does a follow train work?A follow train works by sharing your social media handle, following others that interest you, and sending them a direct message telling them where you found them from (e.g. Reddit).
Let’s get into each one of the steps in detail.
Firstly, you’ll have to share your social media handle ‘link here’ in a follow train (e.g. chúng tôi in order for people to find and follow you.
In addition to sharing your social media handle, certain groups require you to write up a short description of yourself or the content that you post.
This is to allow people to know your niche, so they’ll only follow you if they are interested in your content.
Secondly, you can follow others that interest you.
A common fault in follow trains is that people don’t like to follow first. This can be due to ego, distrust, laziness, etc.
So if you do happen to follow others first, you can grow your followers at a faster rate then if you were to just share your social media handle.
Follow trains work because people follow each other, so someone needs to follow first in order for it to work.
The last step (and the most important one) is to direct message the person telling them where you found them from (e.g. Reddit).
This step is crucial because if you don’t send them a direct message, they won’t know that you’re doing follow for follow.
If you follow these three steps, you’re guaranteed to receive a follow back almost all of the time.
Types of follow trainsThere are various types of follow trains (not only Instagram).
Here is a compiled list of follow trains you can check out to grow your followers.
All of them are completely free to join and are great places where you can connect with people in your niche.
Instagram follow trainFollow trains are widely used by Instagram users who want to quickly grow their followers.
One of the most popular follow trains for Instagram is the r/Instagram community on Reddit.
The community has a “Follow Friday” thread where you can share your Instagram handle with others every Friday.
The goal of the thread is to find new people to follow on Instagram and expand your follower-base in the process.
There are lots of people in varying niches on the “Follow Friday” thread—from photography to personal accounts so you’ll definitely find someone in your niche.
Hundreds of Redditors use the thread on a weekly basis to grow their Instagram followers. You’ll be surprised by the number of followers you’ll get when you first start using it.
I’ve personally used the “Follow Friday” thread for about 2 years now, met a lot of interesting people, and had meaningful conversations.
You can potentially gain hundreds of followers from the thread if you use it consistently.
A cool tip about the thread is that it resets every Friday at around 9 am EST.
So, it’s best to share your Instagram handle at that time for maximum visibility.
Twitter follow trainA popular user who hosts Follow trains on a consistent basis is @toolzbabe on Twitter.
LinkedIn Follow Train(Insert indiehackers linkedin screenshot here)
LinkedIn is another platform where follow trains can be used to expand your network.
However, LinkedIn follow trains are not common as there aren’t as many LinkedIn users as compared to other social media platforms like Instagram or Twitter.
That being said, the most popular follow train for LinkedIn is started by a post on Indiehackers.
Indiehackers has various follow for follow posts like, “Hacking Twitter”, “Hacking Instagram”, and so on.
These posts are basically follow trains for various social media platforms.
In order to expand your connections on LinkedIn, you can use the “Hacking LinkedIn” post on Indiehackers.
Simply request to connect with the users that shared their LinkedIn handle and tell them that you’re from Indiehackers.
These “Hacking x” posts are only created once in a while, so you’ll have to be sure to look out for them.
They are incredibly useful if you want to expand your network quickly.
Follow train rules• You should always follow others back from a follow train especially if the person that followed you sent you a direct message.
• Try to write-up a short description about yourself or the content that you post so that people can easily identify your niche.
Advantages of a follow trainFollow trains have existed since the early days of social media (particularly Instagram) and people are still using them to grow their accounts to this day.
Are you wondering why they’re still such a popular growth strategy?
Quick way to grow your followersFirstly, a follow train is a quick way you can grow your social media followers.
If you were to join a follow for follow group on Instagram now, all you need to do is to share your Instagram handle and people will start following you.
In addition, you can follow others that shared their handle. They’ll follow you back if you send them a direct message telling them where you came from (e.g. Reddit).
Follow trains are specifically catered for people who want to grow their followers by following others. This is also known as follow for follow.
As follow trains are made up of people looking to expand their follower-base through the means of following each other, everyone is like-minded.
Thus, the majority of people will follow you back and not unfollow.
You can find new people to followFollow trains enable you to find new and interesting people/content to follow.
As people usually share a short description of themselves or the content that they post, you can easily identify people in your niche to follow.
Consequently, your engagement rate will increase as both parties are in the same niche, and enjoy each other’s content.
The thing about Instagram’s search is that you need to know the username of a person before you can find and follow them.
If you were to search for a keyword on Instagram, the top search results will be dominated with accounts with a large number of followers.
Follow trains give you the ability to find new people and content which cannot be achieved from an Instagram search.
After all, Instagram’s search is incredibly restrictive, so you can utilize a follow train to broaden it.
Attract the right audienceIt’s important to attract the right audience on Instagram as you don’t want people that are uninterested in your content to follow you.
If they do, it’ll negatively affect your engagement rate.
Naturally, you’ll be more inclined to like someone’s posts that are in the same niche as you.
This is because you have the same interests as them. Follow trains give you the ability to attract the right audience if you specify your niche.
If you’re a business, this is especially important. Attracting the right people can lead to more conversions and sales.
Instead of blindly following people from a list, you should focus on attracting the right audience, and a follow Train will enable you to do that.
It’s time-consumingIf you’re utilizing a follow train, you need to be very consistent with it if you want to grow your social media followers quickly.
Joining a follow train is about sharing your social media handle with others. But that’s not enough if you’re looking to gain hundreds of followers.
In order to grow your followers by hundreds, you’ll have to constantly follow and direct message others first instead of waiting for them to do so.
This is incredibly time-consuming as you’ll have to dedicate at least an hour a day to follow and message various people.
In addition, social media apps like Instagram will impose an action block on your account if you follow or direct message others too quickly.
This will hinder your growth efforts.
In order to prevent to action block, you’ll have to be sure to follow and direct message in intervals of 5 to 10 minutes.
In addition to sharing your social media handle, following, and direct messaging others, you’ll have to watch out for the action block as well—which makes it time-consuming.
If you’re not consistent with it, you’re not going to get a lot of followers.
Your feed may be overcrowdedSecondly, by utilizing a follow train, your feed may be overcrowded with posts.
This is because the more people you follow, the more posts you’ll have on your feed.
This makes it harder for you to like every post on your feed and you might miss the posts from people you care about.
Thus, it’s important that you mute people who post too much.
Overposters are one of the worst types of people on Instagram as they clutter your feed unnecessarily.
To identify overposters, simply visit someone’s profile and check the time frame between each post.
If the time frame between their posts is short (a few hours), then they might be an overposter.
If that’s the case, you have to make sure to mute the person’s posts right after following them.
You can do so by refreshing your Instagram feed right after following them.
Once you do so, their posts will most likely appear at the top of your feed where you can tap on the “triple dots” icon to mute them.
Unorganized feedIf you’re not meticulous about who you follow, your feed might be filled with posts in varying niches.
This means that your feed will be very unorganized—from photography posts to memes to fitness.
To prevent an unorganized/messy feed, be sure to include a short description of yourself or the content that you post so that people can identify your niche and follow you only if they like your content.
In addition, you can explicitly mention that you’re only following back people in your niche.
This will make sure that your feed stays consistent (with posts within a niche).
ConclusionGrowing your social media can be challenging, but it’s not rocket science.
There are many ways to grow your social media followers, and follow trains are one of them.
The best part about follow trains is that you can stop using them once you’re satisfied with the number of your followers.
The only restriction to watch out for is the rate in which you’re following or direct messaging others.
Further ReadingWhat Is A Disk Server?
In computing, a server is a computer that constantly runs. Serving whatever content and functionality it has been configured to perform. A classic example of this is a web server, which helps web pages that can vary depending on the user’s request. Servers can host any application that works on the server-client model. Online video games are another excellent example. A physical server runs the game server application for users to connect to.
Note: Both the physical hardware used as servers and the software that runs on them for users to connect are referred to as servers.
One of the issues that servers, as well as most other enterprise-grade computer hardware, have to deal with is high levels of specialization. Enterprise networking hardware, such as routers, switches, servers, etc., is all relatively space limited. These machines are designed to fit into server racks. Typically taking up one to four “U” of the height of a 48U 7-foot-tall server rack.
Note: A “U” is a standard unit of height for computer hardware designed to fit in server racks.
Not only do servers have limited space, but they also have limited cooling capacity and power limits. These restrictions mean that server hardware is designed to be as efficient as possible through specialization. Unfortunately, this means there is limited space for other hardware, such as hard drives. Hard drives are necessary to hold the operating system and run the server. Still, they’re also required to keep the vast store of data that the server may need to serve and the data it collects.
Enter the Disk ServerServers have some built-in and sometimes expandable storage. But this isn’t enough space for modern server needs. Additionally, many servers are not a single server but multiple servers acting behind a load balancer that helps to ensure that no one server gets overloaded. If you stored the actual data that the application runs on each server, you’d have a massive data duplication issue.
Another type of specialized hardware is used to get around all of these issues, the disk server. The disk server is designed to fit in a standard server rack and hold as many hard drives as possible. A disk server will also be kitted out with enterprise-grade connectivity so that data can be provided to the actual server as quickly as possible. In most cases, a RAID array will be used to provide some level of resilience to drive failure. And potentially a performance improvement, depending on the array’s configuration.
The disk server is a single point for storage drives to be located. Of course, with substantial data sets, even a single disk server won’t be able to provide enough storage space. So, multiple disk servers may be needed. A disk server should be directly accessed by actual physical servers in a properly configured network. The end user should not be able to connect directly to the disk server.
NASIn a home environment, the NAS server is essentially the same as a disk server. A NAS server provides network connectivity for a (smaller) number of hard drives allowing other computers on the same network to access that data. There are some differences, though. Most NASs can also run some low-end server functionality directly as they need to be less specialized than their data center cousins.
Note: NAS stands for Network Attached Storage.
ConclusionA disk server is a specialized computer device that holds as many hard drives as possible. It then provides access to the storage of these hard drives to configured devices, typically exclusively servers. In the home environment, the closest thing to a disk server is a NAS which offers most of the same functionality and some extra because of the reduced need for specialization. Both disk servers and NASs are designed to provide a high density of storage space to other devices on the network.
What Is A Credential Stuffing Attack
Look around, and you will find abundant stories of Cybercrime flooding the internet World. Attackers are finding newer ways to steal private customer data from businesses and using them for their own financial benefits. The consequences are even worse for companies whose business itself is solely based on the internet. The Akamai’s State of the Internet report says that over 8.3 billion malicious login attempts were identified in May and June this year. These are nothing but Credential Stuffing Attacks. Let’s learn more about it.
What is Credential StuffingWhile creating a password for your online credit card or internet banking account, you are often asked to create a strong password consisting of a capital letter, special character, number, etc. Do you come up with something complex as aXZvXjkdA(0LJCjiN? The answer could well be a “No”.
Usually, we try and come up with something that we can remember easily. For instance, [email protected], which, though satisfies all the preconditions of making a password like it contains a capital letter, a number, and a special character – still is not the password that is hard to break nowadays. It’s worse when you use your birthdates, favorite movie names, favorite Basketball player names, spouse name or even your toddler’s name in your passwords. If this was not enough, we tend to use the same passwords for multiple site logins.
Now if even one of the site that you log in is breached by attackers, your login credentials stand exposed and ready to be exploited.
Attackers can then take your credentials and supply them into an automated tool. This tool can then run those accounts against a target site to see what credentials will work. Think about what they can do if they can gain access to a retail site or worse, your banking site? They are stealing sensitive information or even worse, transfer money to other accounts they create. This whole activity of fraudulently gaining access to others account is called as Credential Stuffing.
With Credential stuffing attack an attacker can use automated scripts and bots to try each credential against a target web site. It uses breached credentials in order to fraudulently gain access to online accounts, and can be considered to be a subset of Brute Force Attacks.
Targets of Credential StuffingApart from a normal Internet users, Credential Stuffing attacks are aimed at organizations in a variety of industries like banking, financial services, government, healthcare, education and more.
Consequences of Credential Stuffing attacksVictims of Credential Stuffing attacks face financial as well as other tangible losses. Here are some of them:
Reputation loss
Almost all businesses store some amount of personally identifiable information on employees or customers, and these companies are legally obligated to protect this information. In case of an information breach, the company is bound to face reputation loss in the market.
Regulatory Fines
Leaked customer data or business information can often invite regulatory fines. Governments and regulatory bodies can levy stiff fines based on the severity of the breach. These financial burdens can add up and devastate businesses of all sizes.
Operational costs
Companies are bound to incur operational costs due to investigations, remediations, and customer management arising out of Credential Stuffing attacks. The cost can scale to millions, depending on the scope of the attack.
Customer loss
Customer loss is revenue loss, and most companies are likely to lose customers if they are unable to protect their sensitive business data.
How to prevent Credential Stuffing attacksTaking some basic precautions is the best way to protect from Credential Stuffing attacks. Here is what all you can do:
Best practices for passwords – Adopt best practices when it comes to password management. Set strong and unfamiliar passwords and change them continuously. Also, do not use the same password for multiple logins.
Use VPN – With remote access becoming a way of doing business, use of VPN is necessary. A VPN software allows for a secure network connection even on unsecured networks so that employees can safely use their credentials to access the company network from wherever they are.
Two-factor authentication – Logins that follow a two-factor authentication offer great protection because the second access code is not stored in a database and hence cannot be trapped. In Two-factor authentication, a password is sent to phone or email and is valid only for 60 sec. This essentially downgrades credential-stuffing attacks to distributed denial of service threats, and hence they cannot penetrate that network’s defenses.
Firewalls – Firewalls identify malicious traffic and block the source IP address, shutting down the attack from the source.
Stay safe!
Heard of Password Spray Attacks by the way?
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