I heard about this after listening to the CyberSpeak Podcast one evening (http://cyberspeak.libsyn.com/).
George Starcher has written a very detailed article and step by step guide on how to setup Amazon EC2 as DNA workers.
I have used AccessData’s DNA (Distributed Network Attack) before but when used in a live environment I found it effected the use of the workstations it was running on. In reality it was needed to be used when the systems were idle but unfortunately these workstations are treated as work horses and never get to rest with Encase churning out information 24 hours a day.
So the idea you could harness the power of Amazons large network for password cracking seems to be too good to be true and the process is relativity simple for an IT literate user.
Plus the pricing with Amazon Web Services are affordable and the specifications are rather generous.
Definitely worth a read: https://www.georgestarcher.com/?tag=amazon-ec2
If password cracking is not your thing then a look at Amazon’s EC2 and other web services are need for any tech savvy individual attempting to take that leap into the ‘cloud’. http://aws.amazon.com/