Ockham wrote:But basically the intended( and easiest?) solution is to use a program? I kind of figured every mission here was possible without any external aid. I don't wanna be considered one of those script kiddie noobs and I prefer to learn everything from scratch and use the basic solutions if at all possible.
using the tools doesn't mean you didn't understand how to solve the problem. u can write your own tool if u want.
but, the thing that u are facing now is a real hashing algorithm.. so u need to lend someone knowledge that have expertise in this domain (cryptography). it will be a different story if u can write ur own tools using dictionary / rainbow table to decrypt the hash.
for me, the main point in this mission is how u can identify the password hash algorithm and the right tools to solve it..
trust me, it won't make ur pride hurt

CMIIW