Passware Kit Ultimate, Forensic and Business distribute password recovery tasks across a network of Windows and Linux computers, as well as Amazon EC2 and Microsoft Azure Cloud Agents, for linear scalability. Each computer running Passware Kit Agent can simultaneously support multiple CPUs and GPUs. Passware Kit Ultimate includes 10 Agents, while Passware Kit Forensic includes 5 Agents. Additional Agents can be purchased individually as needed. Passware Kit Agents can be managed remotely directly from the Passware Kit.
For any assistance with the process, please contact Customer Support.
Overview of Passware Kit (Server)
Passware Kit facilitates the set up of password recovery clusters and the management of both local and remote hardware through Resource Manager. This function is accessible via the Tools menu of the Passware Kit before running any decryption tasks and remains available as a tab during the password recovery process.
The Resource Manager displays a list of known Passware Kit Agents and enables the addition of new Agents.
Resource Manager
Filters are dynamically displayed based on Agent statuses. The detailed hardware list can be hidden or expanded by clicking the button on the right.
Columns are resizable and provide real-time information as follows:
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Agent name and configuration
The name of the Agent, operating system, IP address, and available CPU and GPU. -
Status
Status of the entire Agent or the hardware devices. -
°C
Temperature of the CPU or GPU if reported by the driver. -
Load
Load of the CPU or GPU device while the attack is in progress. -
Current speed
Speed in passwords per second (minute, hour) for the ongoing recovery process. -
Average speed
Average speed of the contributing Agent during the current recovery session. -
Passwords checked
Overall amount of passwords checked by each Agent and its hardware within the session
List of Agents
- Built-in Agent refers to the hardware of the Passware Kit (Server) machine. It can be either enabled or disabled.
- The trigger Network enables or disables distributed password recovery.
- The + Add Agent button allows users to add a network or cloud Agent.
- The Network list displays two categories of Passware Kit Agents: connected and disconnected. Agents inherit their names from the computers they are installed on, though these names can be modified in their settings. Additionally, the Resource Manager displays the operating system and its version, RAM amount, and IP address. If an Agent has multiple connections from different IP addresses, the number of additional connections is displayed as +N next to the main IP address (Agent Network Tab).
CPU and GPU names are displayed as reported by the operating system.
Passware Tip: If all GPU devices are not listed, please refer to our Troubleshooting article.
- The Disconnected Agents section may include previously used Agents that are currently disconnected, as well as connections initiated from the Server, such as cloud Agents that are still in the process of connecting. A pencil icon on the right enables users to change the IP address and\or password for such connections, or to remove them.
- A gear icon on the right opens the Agent’s settings.
Right-click menu
A right-click menu is accessible for all the Agents. The options available depend on the connection status of the Agent and include the following:
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Disable
Excludes the Passware Kit Agent from the recovery process, equivalent to toggling the on-off option. -
Restart
Restarts he Passware Kit Agent. -
Assign to…
Allows selection of the Server (including Passware Kit Forensic instances available within the network) from the dropdown list to assign the Agent to, or choose the auto-assign option. -
Update and assign to this Server
Updates or downgrades the Agent version to match that of the Server. -
Settings
Opens the Agent’s settings. -
Save Logs
Saves the log from the remote Passware Kit Agent. -
Remove
Available for disconnected and undiscovered Agents only, this option removes the Agent from the Resource Manager.
Network Tab
Network Log displays network events, along with the related warnings and errors.
Attacks Tab
Password recovery attacks can be run simultaneously depending on their complexity. Short attacks with fewer password candidates finish first, allowing more complex attacks to start, thus minimizing the GPU idle time. For each attack, Passware Kit displays a progress bar and estimated time to complete.
Two attack options are available:
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Skip
Skips the attack -
Restart
Restarts the previously skipped attack or the recovery process if stopped.
Running attacks are listed on the Passware Kit footer in the order they were initiated. If more than three attacks are running simultaneously, click “View all” to open the Attacks Tab for more information.
Status Improvements
The new streamlined status list and improved Resource Manager UI simplify the process of obtaining a detailed overview of cluster performance and hardware issues.
Overview of Passware Kit Agent
To access the settings of a connected Agent, either select Settings from the right-click menu or click on the gear icon located next to the Agent.
Settings Tab
All connected and disconnected Agents are listed on the left pane.
The Agent’s name, operating system, available RAM, and IP address are displayed in the title bar.
The following settings are available for each Agent:
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Display name
This can be customized to any desired name. The chosen name will be saved for the Agent in the settings and will be visible to all machines on the network. -
Description
Use this field to add and monitor important information about the Agent. -
Assignment to Server
This drop-down menu allows manual selection of a specific Server to assign the Agent. The message “Unassigned” indicates that the Agent is in the auto-assign mode and is available to every Server on the network. -
Auto-update
This setting permits or restricts the automatic update of the Agent. -
Auto-discovery port
By default, the Agent broadcasts to the 10777 UDP port. -
Connection port
The Agent listens to the 10776 UDP port by default. -
Connection password
A password is required for Cloud Agents. For network Agents,, a password is optional but recommended for added security.
The icon next to the Auto-update Allow checkbox triggers a quick restart of the Agent.
The footer displays the Agent’s version and current status. To save changes made to the Agent settings, click the Apply button.
Hardware Tab
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Computational units
Hardware units exposed to the system are listed here. They can be enabled or disabled. -
Disable GPU acceleration when user is active
When enabled, this feature limits GPU utilization for password recovery while the computer is in use. -
Disable GPU in case of overheat
When activated, this option shuts down the GPU if its temperature exceeds a set threshold, preventing potential damage.-
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Overheat temperature threshold
This parameter is set to 80°C by default but can be manually adjusted according to GPU specifications. -
GPU Utilization
This option allows users to limit the GPU load to prevent system freezes.
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Overheat temperature threshold
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System info
Information about the Agent's operating system and RAM amount, available for copying.
Network Tab
The Network Tab displays IP addresses and their statuses for the Agent’s connection, whether initiated by the Server (using the +Add Agent button in the Resource Manager) or initiated by the Agent through the auto-discovery or manual assignment. Any connection can be terminated using the X icon.
Passware Tip: Auto-discovery involves the Agent broadcasting to port 10777 by default and connecting to any available Server.
Performance Tab
This tab replicates the Performance Tab in Passware Kit during a password recovery session, displaying the current, average, and maximum speeds achieved by the Agent, along with a graphical representation.
Log Tab
This tab lists all events associated with the Agent. Filters facilitate viewing events of the same type. Click Save Logs to save the details in CSV format.
Status Report Tab
This tab displays technical information about attacks, which is essential for troubleshooting.
Installing Passware Kit Agents
Passware Kit Agent is available for download from the website or Passware Account for both Windows and Linux systems (64 bit).
Linux Agents
For instructions on installing and running Passware Kit Agent on Linux, consult the README file in the downloaded TAR archive.
Cloud Agents
Agents can also be used on Amazon EC2 and Microsoft Azure clouds. Additional information regarding Agent settings and CLI usage is available here.
Windows Agents
The instructions are as follows:
- Run the Passware Kit Agent installation file to install it on node computers. The same installation file can be used to install the Agents on multiple computers.
- Configure the Passware Kit Agent to connect to a specific Server or select the Auto-assign option.
- Launch Passware Kit Agent, then the following screen will appear:
On the Settings tab, select either the Auto assign or the Assign manually option:- In the Auto assign mode, the Agent gets assigned to the first Passware Kit (Server) to engage it for recovery.
- In the Assign manually mode, specify the name or IP address of the computer running Passware Kit (Server) or select it from the drop-down list.
Passware Kit Agent broadcasts to Passware Kit using the default broadcast IP 255.255.255.255 at port 10777. Ensure the following default ports are open on the respective machines:- Passware Kit (Server): UDP port 10777
- Passware Kit Agent: UDP port 10776 (former UDP port 10555 for compatibility with Servers older than version 2024.1 and Agent's discovery).
- Passware Kit (Server) port can be changed in Passware Kit’s Tools | Options | Hardware menu. If a custom port is used, specify it in Assign manually mode in Passware Kit Agent, for example, 192.168.0.10:10789.
- On the Hardware tab, select the hardware to be used for the attack contribution and restrict GPU utilization as shown below:
With Passware Kit Agent installed, you are ready to recover the password using Passware Kit.
Running Passware Kit and Recovering the Password
Once Passware Kit Agents are installed, follow these steps to recover the password:
- Launch Passware Kit and select the file or files to recover passwords for. Ensure Network is enabled in the Tools | Resource Manager menu.
- Select one of the three options to configure password recovery settings or set up a batch mode recovery for multiple files. Click Recover.
- The Resource Manager tab displays all the detected and saved Passware Kit Agents over the network. Monitor the statuses of the Agents in the Status column:
The status "Running the current attack" indicates that the Passware Kit Agent is connected to the Passware Kit (Server) and is running the current password recovery task.
NOTE: The Built-in Agent refers to the machine where the Passware Kit (Server) is installed.
- When the Passware Kit Agent is connected to the Passware Kit (Server), its Settings tab displays the IP address and the port of the Passware Kit (Server). The Performance tab displays the resource usage graph:
During the password recovery process, the Agent’s status is indicated as "Connected and busy...". - The detailed activity of both Passware Kit and Passware Kit Agents is displayed on the Log and Network tabs.
Passware Tip: Enabling the "Save detailed reports..." option at Tools | Options | Hardware generates and saves more detailed logs from all Agents during the recovery process. Please note that these logs may consume significant storage space in the corresponding %APPDATA% folder.
Your password is now being efficiently recovered using multiple computers!
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