# How To Crack Encrypted ZIP Archives **URL:** \ **Category:** Tutorials & Methods\ **Tags:** hacking, cracking\ **Created:** [April 26, 2020, 5:54am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/how-to-crack-encrypted-zip-archives/82320 "2020-04-26T05:54:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Astrid](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/astrid/32/174869_2.png) [@Astrid](https://onehack.st/u/Astrid)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 5:54am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/how-to-crack-encrypted-zip-archives/82320/1 "2020-04-26T05:54:19Z")
To start, I created a couple text files on my Windows machine and stored them into an encrypted ZIP archive using 7-zip. ![](https://infiniteloginscom.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/image-11.png?w=623) Let’s transfer over the **CrackMe.zip** file to our Kali machine. ![](https://infiniteloginscom.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/image-12.png?w=655) Once the **CrackMe.zip** file is present on the filesystem, go ahead and **Right-Click** and select **Extract Here**. ![](https://infiniteloginscom.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/image-9.png?w=661) You’ll get a prompt stating that there is a **Password Required**. ![](https://infiniteloginscom.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/image-8.png?w=726) In order for us to crack this password, we need to first extract its hash. Luckily, [John The Ripper](https://www.openwall.com/john/) has everything we need built-in. Let’s spin up a **Terminal** window and get started. Start by making sure you’re in the correct directory that contains the ZIP file. ![](https://infiniteloginscom.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/image-13.png?w=455) Run the following **command** to decrypt any hashes that are contained within the archive. This will create a new text document titled _hash-to-crack.txt_ `sudo zip2john CrackMe.zip > hash-to-crack.txt` ![](https://infiniteloginscom.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/image-14.png?w=816) We can verify the contents of the file by utilizing `cat` . `cat hash-to-crack.txt` ![](https://infiniteloginscom.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/image-15.png?w=1024) Great! Now that we have a hash contained in the text document, let’s try our hand at cracking it. First, we’ll need a wordlist. I always like to utilize the rockyou.txt wordlist built into Kali first. This list can be found at `/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt` . If you haven’t first unzipped this list, you’ll want to do that before proceeding. [Check out this guide for help with that](https://infinitelogins.com/2020/03/20/unzipping-rockyou-txt-gz-in-kali-linux/). With wordlist in hand, let’s run the following command to start our brute-force. `sudo john --format=zip hash-to-crack.txt --wordlist=/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt` ![](https://infiniteloginscom.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/image-10.png?w=1024) Based on the result above, we see that our password is `password123` ! Let’s attempt to extract the archive again, and enter that password to make sure it works. ![](https://infiniteloginscom.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/image-16.png?w=654) Doing so creates a new folder titled **CrackMe**. Let’s go ahead and expand the contents of this and see what we can find! ![](https://infiniteloginscom.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/image-17.png?w=680) That’s it! Super quick and easy to crack this if you have a weak password. As you’ve heard 1000 times, strong passwords are essential for keeping your data secure, and this is just one example that proves that. `Source: infinitelogins` ---
**Author:** ![Syed\_Fazal\_Hassan](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/syed_fazal_hassan/32/39272_2.png) [@Syed\_Fazal\_Hassan](https://onehack.st/u/Syed_Fazal_Hassan)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 2:29pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/how-to-crack-encrypted-zip-archives/82320/2 "2020-04-26T14:29:26Z")
Thanks Mate, Great Share, I’ll try this one. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperdemongod](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/hyperdemongod/32/26170_2.png) [@Hyperdemongod](https://onehack.st/u/Hyperdemongod)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/how-to-crack-encrypted-zip-archives/82320/3 "2020-04-26T14:41:20Z")
Awesome Share! 🤩 Thanks for Sharing!! 💯 👍 @Astrid Bookmarked! 🕶 ---
**Author:** ![Tila\_Tripy](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/tila_tripy/32/9259_2.png) [@Tila\_Tripy](https://onehack.st/u/Tila_Tripy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/how-to-crack-encrypted-zip-archives/82320/4 "2020-04-26T17:45:08Z")
Could you explain how to crack on android or/and Windows system? ---
**Author:** ![Rakesh\_Kumar1](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/rakesh_kumar1/32/38192_2.png) [@Rakesh\_Kumar1](https://onehack.st/u/Rakesh_Kumar1)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/how-to-crack-encrypted-zip-archives/82320/5 "2020-04-27T13:34:19Z")
@Astrid i followed all the steps but it didn’t fetch me anything. wt should i do now any advice ![image](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/a/1/a13e082c7711c7762bfa2705e91514c2b78aa13d.png) ---
**Author:** ![RogerM](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/rogerm/32/41761_2.png) [@RogerM](https://onehack.st/u/RogerM)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2020, 1:08pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/how-to-crack-encrypted-zip-archives/82320/6 "2020-06-22T13:08:13Z")
I am not very good at this type of stuff…Does it perform brute force in order to find the password? I´ve used these brute force rar/zip password recovery programs in the past and, if the password is hard or complicated (many especial characters) it can take days before finding it.