What stupid linkbait. Cracking LM-hashed passwords is about as interesting as .1 + .2 != .3 in ieee754. Can we at least change the headline to something like "Newsflash: SSDs faster than spinning platters"?
Yes, the main problem with the article is that they never mention LM. The page they link to too. Only from the "14 characters" we get the idea that they crack LM hashes:
"To address the security weaknesses inherent in LM encryption, Microsoft introduced the NTLM algorithm with Windows NT 3.1."
That's 17 years old news, that LM is weak.
Still what most people unfamiliar with the topic don't know is that LM hashes of your passwords can still be present on your Windows machine, default "for compatibility reason."
For some posts the value might be the HN discussion following them, and not the post itself. And as usual when people whine about stuff they don't find interesting, all I have to say is: you < all HN users
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LM_hash
"To address the security weaknesses inherent in LM encryption, Microsoft introduced the NTLM algorithm with Windows NT 3.1."
That's 17 years old news, that LM is weak.
Still what most people unfamiliar with the topic don't know is that LM hashes of your passwords can still be present on your Windows machine, default "for compatibility reason."