The correct answer describes the brute force attack, which is a trial-and-error method used by attackers to decode encrypted data such as passwords. This type of attack involves systematically trying every possible combination of characters until the correct one is found. Other password attack methods, like spraying and guessing, do not involve trying all possible combinations; spraying involves using a few common passwords against many accounts, and guessing attempts to use commonly used passwords or information known about the user to guess the password.