Offline Password Cracking is an attempt to recover one or more passwords from a password storage file that has been recovered from a target system. Typically, this would be the Security Account Manager (SAM) file on Windows, or the /etc/shadow file on Linux. In most cases, Offline Password Cracking will require that an attacker has already attained administrator / root level privileges on the system to get to the storage mechanism.
As cybersecurity professionals we know a “strong” password is, supposedly, one that is at least 8 characters long with a combination of upper case, lower case, numbers, and special characters. But, as Bob Dylan said, the times they are a-changing. There is new movement in the industry to move away from this traditional password guidance to something more secure, user-centric, and friendly.
Online password cracking has advantages and disadvantages. It is effective if executed properly. There are numerous defenses to prevent attackers from cracking your passwords.