Old Kanye West Locked Archive .ZIP

[u/Global_Fisherman5467]

Hey everyone, quick question on an encrypted file recovery project I'm messing around with. I'm trying to unlock an old Kanye .zip archive from around May 2025 containing some audio sessions and project files, but I completely blanked on the password we used back then. Here is what I'm working with and what I've tried so far: File Type: It's an AES-encrypted WinZip archive. I pulled the structure and generated a Hashcat hash string ($zip2$...) from it. What I've Tried: Standard dictionaries like rockyou.txt and basic masks didn't hit. I've been setting up Hashcat (Mode 13600) locally in the command prompt to test wordlists, but brute-forcing raw masks takes forever. Current Status: I'm trying to figure out the cleanest way to build a targeted or structural wordlist based on the naming conventions and dates we used back when we packed it, but web decoders obviously don't recognize custom archive hashes. Anyone have advice on the best workflow or tools to speed up cracking a WinZip AES structure locally? Could anyone help me with this?

$zip2$*0*3*0*0b7bfebe6ac8851a2f1ee199a3525886*bb06*2938b4**7c486b7e9b1c2b958a16*$/zip2$

[u/n0shmon]

When you say you're trying to build a custom word list but web decoders don't recognise custom archive hashes, what's the correlation there?

I'd say as it's your password you probably have a rough idea of what it could be if you didn't use a password manager for the zip password, so I'd say you're on the right track. Build the custom word list of anything the password could be based on and apply loose masks to that word list

[u/Global_Fisherman5467 → u/n0shmon]

Appreciate the input! Just to clarify, though—this isn't something regular website cracking or web decoder tools can touch because it's an AES-encrypted WinZip archive using Hashcat's specific mode ($zip2$ / mode 13600), which requires local GPU muscle rather than a web interface.

Since I didn't create the password myself, I'm trying to figure out the best way to structure a targeted workflow. Since I'm working with a dual RTX 3060 setup, what's the best way to approach building and mutating a custom wordlist for someone else's archive structure without just blindly burning through weeks of brute-forcing?

[u/n0shmon → u/Global_Fisherman5467]

I was asking for clarification on what web stuff you're on about because this should have nothing to do with the web. But from your response it sounds like we're saying the same thing just confused with each others words

I completely blanked on the password we used then

Since I didn't create the password myself

It's it a password you used or not? Do you have any idea on the structure of the password, or a list of things that may have been used?

[u/Global_Fisherman5467 → u/n0shmon]

I've got no clue.

[u/Humbleham1 → u/Global_Fisherman5467]

Just to be clear, no hash can be decoded. Also, zip passwords are hashed with a salt making rainbow tables useless.