John the Ripper is primarily used to do what with password data?

• A. Enumerate network shares
• B. Crack password hashes offline
• C. Patch software vulnerabilities
• D. Scan for open ports

Answer: (B)

Crack password hashes offline. John the Ripper is a password-cracking tool that operates on hash data you already have, testing candidate passwords locally to see if they produce the same hash. It works with many hash formats and can use dictionary attacks, rules to mutate words, and brute-force methods. This offline approach means you don’t contact a live login system; you compare against stored hash values. Other options describe tasks like network/share enumeration, patching software, or port scanning, which are outside the scope of password cracking.