What is a brute force attack? What can you do to stop it?

Brute force is a method for accessing credentials by trial and error — continually attempting all possible combinations of credentials until you hit the right one. Here’s how you can avoid brute force attacks:

• Maximum Length Password: Specify the maximum length of a password, so it becomes harder to find the right combination.
• Password Complexity: Requiring many character types in the password makes brute force attacks more difficult. You might establish requirements for special characters, upper- and lower-case letters, and numbers.
• Limiting Login Attempts: Establish a cap on failed login attempts, which makes it impossible to try all possible password combinations.