Which password attack attempts every possible alphanumeric combination?

A brute force attack is the method that attempts every possible alphanumeric combination to guess a password. This type of attack systematically checks all potential passwords until the correct one is found. It uses computational power to try numerous combinations as quickly as possible, making it a straightforward but often time-consuming approach.

Brute force attacks are effective against passwords that are weak or not sufficiently complex, as they can exploit the limited number of combinations available. As computing power increases, the time required to execute a brute force attack decreases, making it increasingly important for users to utilize strong passwords that include a mix of letters (both upper and lower case), numbers, and symbols to increase complexity and resistance against such attacks.

The other types of attacks listed do not involve systematically trying all alphanumeric combinations. Social engineering relies on manipulating individuals into revealing their passwords, a dictionary attack uses a pre-defined list of likely passwords rather than every combination, and a rainbow table attack uses pre-computed hashes of passwords to quickly crack them without attempting every combination.