What is a .IVS file?
The .IVS file extension stands for Internet Streaming Video, but it's a bit misleading because it's not about videos you watch on the internet. Instead, it's used by a program called Aircrack-ng and similar tools that help find the password of wireless networks that use a specific type of security called WEP.
Here's how it works: When you connect to a wireless network, the data you send and receive is scrambled using a secret code, or "key," so others can't easily see what you're doing. The .IVS file contains special pieces of information called "initialization vectors" or IVs. These IVs are like seeds that help create the scrambled data on the network.
Hackers use Aircrack-ng to collect these IVs by tricking the wireless network into creating lots of data packets. Each packet has its own IV. The more IVs they can collect, the better their chances of figuring out the network's secret key by analyzing the .IVS file. Once they have the key, they can access the network as if they had the password.
To open an .IVS file, you would typically use Aircrack-ng. This process involves a technique called ARP Injection, which makes the network create those data packets with new IVs. Then, Aircrack-ng takes all those IVs, looks at them closely, and tries to guess the network's WEP key.
It's important to note that WEP, the security protocol this whole process targets, is pretty old and not very secure. That's why it's been replaced by newer, tougher security measures for wireless networks. So, while .IVS files and Aircrack-ng can be used to crack WEP keys, they're part of why WEP is considered outdated and vulnerable.
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