all-in-one privacy solution":["Proton Unlimited es una solución de privacidad todo en uno"],"Black Friday":["Black Friday"],"No ads. Privacy by default.":["Sin anuncios. Privacidad por defecto."],"People before profits":["Primero las personas, luego los beneficios"],"Security through transparency":["Seguridad con transparencia"],"The best Proton Mail ${ BLACK_FRIDAY } deals":["Las mejores ofertas de Proton Mail en el ${ BLACK_FRIDAY }"],"The world’s only community- supported email service":["El único servicio de correo electrónico del mundo respaldado por la comunidad"]},"specialoffer:limited":{"${ hours } hour":["${ hours } hora","${ hours } horas"],"${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } and ${ secondsLeft } left":["Tiempo restante: ${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } y ${ secondsLeft }"],"${ minutes } minute":["${ minutes } minuto","${ minutes } minutos"],"${ seconds } second":["${ seconds } segundo","${ seconds } segundos"],"Limited time offer":["Oferta por tiempo limitado"]},"specialoffer:listitem":{"Create multiple addresses":["Cree múltiples direcciones"],"Hide-my-email aliases":["Seudónimos de hide-my-email"],"Quickly unsubscribe from newsletters":["Cancele suscripciones a boletines rápidamente"],"Use your own domain name":["Use su propio dominio"]},"specialoffer:logos":{"As featured in":["Tal como aparece en"]},"specialoffer:metadescription":{"Get an encrypted email that protects your privacy":["Obtenga un correo electrónico cifrado que protege su privacidad"]},"specialoffer:metatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday Sale - Up to 40% off":["Oferta de Black Friday de Proton Mail: hasta un 40% de descuento"]},"specialoffer:newmetadescription":{"Get up to 40% off Proton Mail subscriptions this Black Friday. Find great deals on our secure end-to-end encrypted email plans.":["Aproveche las rebajas de Black Friday y obtenga suscripciones de Proton Mail con hasta un 40 % de descuento. Encontrará las mejores ofertas en planes de correo electrónico seguro cifrado de extremo a extremo."]},"specialoffer:newmetatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday sale | Up to 40% off secure email":["Rebajas de Black Friday en Proton Mail | Hasta un 40 % de descuento en correo electrónico seguro"]},"specialoffer:note":{"* Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["*Con un costo de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante el primer año"],"*Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["*Con un costo de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante los primeros 2 años"],"30-day money-back guarantee":["Garantía de devolución de dinero de 30 días"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["Con un costo de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante los primeros 2 años"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["Con un costo de ${ TOTAL_SUM } durante el primer año"],"You save ${ SAVE_SUM }":["Ahorre ${ SAVE_SUM }"]},"specialoffer:off":{"${ DISCOUNT } off":["-${ DISCOUNT }"],"${ PERCENT_OFF } off":["-${ PERCENT_OFF }"]},"specialoffer:testimonial":{"I love my ProtonMail":["Amo mi Proton Mail"],"My favorite email service":["Mi servicio de correo electrónico favorito"],"Thanks Proton for keeping us all safe in the complicated internet universe.":["Gracias Proton por mantenernos a salvo en el complicado universo de Internet."],"You get what you pay for. In the case of big tech, if you pay nothing, you get used. I quit using Gmail and switched to @ProtonMail":["Obtiene aquello por lo que paga. En el caso de la gran tecnología, cuando uno no paga nada, se acostumbra. Dejé de usar Gmail y cambié a @ProtonMail"]},"specialoffer:time":{"Days":["Días"],"Hours":["Horas"],"Min":["min"]},"specialoffer:title":{"And much more":["Y mucho más"],"Make your inbox yours":["Personalice su bandeja de entrada"],"Safe from trackers":["A salvo de rastreadores"],"Stay organized":["Mantenga el orden"],"Black Friday email deals":["Ofertas en correo electrónico del Black Friday"],"Don’t just take our word for it":["No confíe solo en nuestra palabra"],"Our story":["Nuestra historia"],"Transfer your data from Google in one click":["Transfiera sus datos de Google con un solo clic"]},"specialoffer:tooltip":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES }+ countries, connect up to 10 devices, access worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Acceda a contenidos bloqueados y navegue de forma privada. Incluye más de ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS } servidores en más de ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES } países, se conecta con hasta 10 dispositivos, accede a servicios de transmisión de todo el mundo, bloquea malware y publicidad y mucho más."],"Easily share your calendar with your family, friends or colleagues, and view external calendars.":["Comparta su calendario con familiares, amigos y compañeros fácilmente y consulte calendarios externos."],"Includes support for 1 custom email domain, 10 email addresses, 10 hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Incluye compatibilidad con 1 dominio de correo electrónico personalizado, 10 direcciones de correo electrónico, 10 seudónimos de hide-my-email, posibilidad de compartir calendario, etc."],"Includes support for 3 custom email domains, 15 email addresses, unlimited hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Incluye compatibilidad con 3 dominios de correo electrónico personalizado, 15 direcciones de correo electrónico, seudónimos ilimitados de hide-my-email, posibilidad de compartir calendario, etc."],"Manage up to 25 calendars, mobile apps, secured with end-to-end encryption, 1-click calendar import from Google, and more.":["Administre hasta 25 calendarios, apps móviles, protegido con cifrado de extremo a extremo, importación de calendario con 1 clic desde Google y más."]},"Status banner":{"Learn more":["Más información"],"Please note that at the moment we are experiencing issues with the ${ issues[0] } service.":["Tenga en cuenta que, en este momento, estamos experimentando problemas con el servicio ${ issues[0] }."],"We are experiencing issues with one or more services at the moment.":["En este momento, tenemos problemas con uno o más servicios."]},"Status Banner":{"At the moment we are experiencing issues with the Proton VPN service":["En este momento, tenemos problemas con el servicio Proton VPN."],"Learn more":["Más información"]},"suggestions":{"Suggestions":["Sugerencias"]},"Support":{"Sub category":["Subacategoria","Subcategorías"]},"Support article":{"${ readingTime } min":["${ readingTime } minuto","${ readingTime } minutos"],"Category":["Categoría","Categorías"],"Didn’t find what you were looking for?":["¿No encontró lo que buscaba?"],"General contact":["Contacto general"],"Get help":["Obtener ayuda"],"Legal contact":["Contacto legal"],"Media contact":["Contacto para medios"],"Partnerships contact":["Contacto para colaboradores"],"Reading":["Lectura"]},"Support troubleshooting":{"App version":["Versión de la app"],"Browser":["Navegador"],"Check if this helps":["Compruebe si le sirve"],"Choose a product":["Elija un producto"],"Did this solve your issue?":["¿Le ha resultado útil para resolver el problema?"],"Faster assistance is just a few clicks away":["Solo le separan unos clics de una asistencia más rápida"],"How can we help?":["¿Cómo podemos ayudarle?"],"No, contact support":["No, contactar a soporte"],"Please fill out one field after another":["Complete un campo 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What is a rainbow table attack and how to prevent it? | Proton
In this article, we explore how rainbow table attacks work and discuss ways to prevent them.
Rainbow table attack definition
A rainbow table attack is a cryptographic attack hackers use to break into systems by figuring out passwords from their hashes, which act as digital fingerprints. A hash function maps each password with a corresponding string of characters.
Unlike a brute-force attack(new window) that tries every possible password one by one, a rainbow table attack doesn’t require guesswork once the table is precomputed. This precomputed table (known as a rainbow table because of the way it looks if color-coded) is essentially a large database of hash value pairs linked to their plaintext counterparts.
How a rainbow table password attack works
1. Creating a list of passwords
When creating rainbow tables, hackers often target the most likely and commonly used passwords with simple patterns (for example, 123456, password, or qwerty), dictionary words, or password dumps obtained from data breaches.
2. Selecting the hash function and converting the passwords
Rainbow table attacks work well with simpler, faster cryptographic hash functions like MD-5, SHA-1, LM Hash, or NTLM Hash since they don’t use security features like salting (adding random data to each password before hashing) or key stretching (repeatedly hashing the password).
Password hashed with MD-5
Plaintext password
482c811da5d5b4bc6d497ffa98491e38
password123
Each plaintext password runs through the hash function to generate its corresponding hash, which has a unique, fixed-size string of characters as in the example above. Once all passwords are hashed, the hacker can use them to create the rainbow table.
3. Creating the rainbow table to reveal passwords
A rainbow table can be seen as a big Excel sheet, with hashed passwords in the first column and plaintext passwords in the second. If a breached hash is present in this table, that means the breached password is the cell next to it.
Rainbow table attack examples
Here are two hypothetical examples to illustrate how a rainbow table attack could play out:
A hacker identifies a social media site that uses an outdated hashing algorithm without any salting. By exploiting a SQL injection flaw, the attacker extracts the hash values of user passwords from the website’s database. Then they use a precomputed rainbow table to quickly convert thousands of these hashes back into plaintext passwords, compromising user accounts.
During routine network monitoring, a hacker discovers that an e-commerce website transmits password hashes insecurely between its servers and uses network sniffing tools to capture this data. Since they now have access to the password hashes, the hacker uses a rainbow table attack to decode customer passwords, gaining access to their shopping accounts and personal information.
Rainbow table attack data breaches
Rainbow table attacks have been used in the real world to steal millions of login details.
For example, a 2012 LinkedIn hack(new window) by Russian cybercriminals resulted in the theft of nearly 6.5 million user account passwords, causing a significant data breach. Following the initial discovery, LinkedIn found an additional 100 million compromised email addresses and passwords in 2016 related to the same incident. The stolen passwords were poorly protected, lacking additional security measures like salting, making them easier for attackers to decrypt using standard rainbow tables
How to prevent rainbow table attacks
Choose platforms with strong hash functions
Secure hash functions like bcrypt(new window) or Argon2(new window) use salting(new window) to add random data to your password before creating its hash. Without the salt, the password’s hash won’t show up in a rainbow table, so an attack would fail.
If you run your own websites or databases, keep your security settings updated by using plugins or modules that implement strong hashing algorithms.
Use complex passwords
Instead of using easy-to-guess passwords, opt for secure passwords(new window) made from at least 12 characters, which contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Examples of strong passwords are ?GmmM1Z[c5:F or beht=ty]P:)Gf^c?p?+7. It’s unlikely for a cyberattacker to target such complex passwords using rainbow table attacks.
Turn on multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) like two-factor authentication (2FA)(new window) adds at least one more form of authentication to the password request, such as a code on your 2FA authenticator. If an attacker successfully discovers your password after a rainbow table attack, they won’t be able to pass the next steps of authentication.
Additionally, if you get an unexpected request for extra verification, it’s a clear sign that someone is trying to get into your account. You can quickly respond by changing your password.
Use alias email addresses
Alias email addresses(new window) can protect you from data breaches that could lead to rainbow table attacks since they are not connected to your primary email addresses. For example, you can keep using your main email for important messages and finances while reserving email aliases for less secure activities, such as signing up for untrusted services. If your alias email address is hacked, you can simply disable it.
Monitor the internet for data breaches
By staying informed about the latest breaches, you can determine if any of the services you use have been compromised and if your data has been leaked. This allows you to take proactive steps, such as changing your passwords immediately, to prevent hackers from using potentially exposed data to gain unauthorized access to your accounts.
All Proton Pass subscribers can use Pass Monitor(new window) to monitor the health of all passwords and Dark Web Monitoring(new window) to track various sources for data breaches. Our security model(new window) uses the secure bcrypt hashing algorithm, which salts your passwords before hashing them to stop rainbow table attacks. Furthermore, we run an advanced security program called Proton Sentinel(new window) to detect and prevent account takeover attacks.
Start securing your accounts from rainbow table attacks by signing up for a free Proton Pass account today.
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