Depix – Recovers Passwords From Pixelized Screenshots
Pixelization describes the process of somewhat reducing the resolution of an image to cleanse information. This technique is used to hide sensitive information and it can be communicated between two endpoints. But through various automated tools, we can decode the text and can see the original text in a readable format. Depix tool is an automated cyber security tool that can extract the image and get the readable message or text from the pixelated image. Depix tool is developed in the Python Language and is available on the GitHub platform.
Note: Make Sure You have Python Installed on your System, as this is a python-based tool. Click to check the Installation process: Python Installation Steps on Linux
Installation of Depix Tool on Kali Linux OS
Step 1: Use the following command to install the tool in your Kali Linux operating system.
git clone https://github.com/beurtschipper/Depix.git
Step 2: Now use the following command to move into the directory of the tool. You have to move in the directory in order to run the tool.
cd Depix
Step 3: You are in the directory of the Depix. Now you have to install a dependency of the Depix using the following command.
sudo pip3 install -r requirements.txt
Step 4: All the dependencies have been installed in your Kali Linux operating system. Now use the following command to run the tool and check the help section.
python3 depix.py --help
Working with Depix Tool on Kali Linux OS
Example 1: Depixelize example image created with Notepad and pixelized with Greenshot. Greenshot averages by averaging the gamma-encoded 0-255 values, which is Depix’s default mode.
python3 depix.py -p images/testimages/testimage1.png -s images/searchimages/debruinseq_notepad_Windows10_closeAndSpaced.png
In the below screenshot, we have a pixelized image which we be decoded.
In the below screenshot, we have the possible set of characters that we will be using to get the text from pixelized images.
We have fired up the command to decode the text from the image.
Our result is saved in the .png format file.
We have displayed the output.png file in the below screenshot.
Example 2: Depixelize example image created with Sublime and pixelized with Gimp, where averaging is done in linear sRGB. The backgroundcolor option filters out the background color of the editor.
python3 depix.py -p images/testimages/sublime_screenshot_pixels_gimp.png -s images/searchimages/debruin_sublime_Linux_small.png –backgroundcolor 40,41,35 –averagetype linear
In this example, we will beautify or try to get the text from the image in a more readable format.
Our results are been saved in the output.png file.
We have got the text in a more readable format as compared to in the first example.