Passwords - Revision history

imported>Huston: Passwords don't really expire anymore

2020-12-02T17:09:00Z

Passwords don't really expire anymore

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-Passwords are a form of authentication.  They are something which you know - and in theory nobody else knows - that a computer can ask you to provide to prove you are who you say you are.  They are usually fairly short (6-15 characters), not to be confused with a [[Passphrases|passphrase]] which can be long and obnoxious (and much more secure).  Although [[SSH]] logins (except for logins to minos) no longer allow the use of passwords ([[*IMPORTANT SSH Login Policies*|see here]], passwords are still common for email and other services.
+Passwords are a form of authentication.  They are something which you know - and in theory nobody else knows - that a computer can ask you to provide to prove you are who you say you are.  They are usually fairly short (6-15 characters), not to be confused with a [[Passphrases|passphrase]] which can be long and obnoxious (and much more secure).  Although [[SSH]] logins (except for logins to minos) no longer allow the use of passwords ([[*IMPORTANT SSH Login Policies*|see here]]), passwords are still common for email and other services.
 == Why are passwords so important? ==
-Passwords are the first line of defence against interactive attacks on your system.  It can be stated simply: if a cracker cannot interact with your system(s), and he has no access to read or write the information contained in the password file, then he has almost no avenues of attack left open to break your system.
+Passwords are the first line of defense against interactive attacks on your system.  It can be stated simply: if a cracker cannot interact with your system(s), and he has no access to read or write the information contained in the password file, then he has almost no avenues of attack left open to break your system.
 This is also why, if a cracker can at least read your password file (and if you are on a vanilla Unix, you should assume this) it is so important that he is not able to break any of the passwords contained therein.  If he can, then it is also fair to assume that he can
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     LDAP password information changed for user [username]
     passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.

imported>Huston at 15:02, 27 June 2007

2007-06-27T15:02:02Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:02, 27 June 2007
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	Joe User's password shall expire Sunday, the 31st of December, 2006		Joe User's password shall expire Sunday, the 31st of December, 2006
	If that date is soon, please change your password using the above instructions.		If that date is soon, please change your password using the above instructions.


			== What if my password expires? ==
			If you ignore the warning to change your password, then it will expire in due time on its own. From then on, you will not be able to login and check email, and some of the hosts in the building will reject your login because your password needs to be changed and they cannot do it. However, newer hosts will present you with a dialog to change your password right away, so you can still login even though your password has expired. Any host running Fedora Core 3 or newer (such as cygnus, armstrong, minos) will let you login and change your password immediately.

imported>Shuston at 01:47, 20 May 2007

2007-05-20T01:47:42Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:47, 20 May 2007
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	* <tt>abcxyz</tt> - ...ditto...		* <tt>abcxyz</tt> - ...ditto...
	* <tt>0ooooooo</tt> - ...ditto...		* <tt>0ooooooo</tt> - ...ditto...
	* <tt>Computer</tt> - just because it's ~~capitalised~~ doesn't make it safe		* <tt>Computer</tt> - just because it's capitalized doesn't make it safe
	* <tt>wombat6</tt> - ditto for appending some random character		* <tt>wombat6</tt> - ditto for appending some random character
	* <tt>6wombat</tt> - ditto for prepending some random character		* <tt>6wombat</tt> - ditto for prepending some random character
	* <tt>merde3</tt> - even for ~~french~~ words...		* <tt>merde3</tt> - even for French words...
	* <tt>mr.spock</tt> - it's in a sci-fi dictionary		* <tt>mr.spock</tt> - it's in a sci-fi dictionary
	* <tt>zeolite</tt> - it's in a geological dictionary		* <tt>zeolite</tt> - it's in a geological dictionary

imported>Huston: Got rid of the code-like section

2007-05-09T20:50:39Z

Got rid of the code-like section

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:50, 9 May 2007
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	For instance, '''NEVER''' use passwords like:		For instance, '''NEVER''' use passwords like:

	alec7 - it's based on the users name (& it's too short anyway)		* <tt>alec7</tt> - it's based on the users name (& it's too short anyway)
	tteffum - based on the users name again		* <tt>tteffum</tt> - based on the users name again
	gillian - girlfiends name (in a dictionary)		* <tt>gillian</tt> - girlfiends name (in a dictionary)
	naillig - ditto, backwards		* <tt>naillig</tt> - ditto, backwards
	PORSCHE911 - it's in a dictionary		* <tt>PORSCHE911</tt> - it's in a dictionary
	12345678 - it's in a dictionary (& people can watch you type it easily)		* <tt>12345678</tt> - it's in a dictionary (& people can watch you type it easily)
	qwertyui - ...ditto...		* <tt>qwertyui</tt> - ...ditto...
	abcxyz - ...ditto...		* <tt>abcxyz</tt> - ...ditto...
	0ooooooo - ...ditto...		* <tt>0ooooooo</tt> - ...ditto...
	Computer - just because it's capitalised doesn't make it safe		* <tt>Computer</tt> - just because it's capitalised doesn't make it safe
	wombat6 - ditto for appending some random character		* <tt>wombat6</tt> - ditto for appending some random character
	6wombat - ditto for prepending some random character		* <tt>6wombat</tt> - ditto for prepending some random character
	merde3 - even for french words...		* <tt>merde3</tt> - even for french words...
	mr.spock - it's in a sci-fi dictionary		* <tt>mr.spock</tt> - it's in a sci-fi dictionary
	zeolite - it's in a geological dictionary		* <tt>zeolite</tt> - it's in a geological dictionary
	ze0lite - corrupted version of a word in a geological dictionary		* <tt>ze0lite</tt> - corrupted version of a word in a geological dictionary
	ze0l1te - ...ditto...		* <tt>ze0l1te</tt> - ...ditto...
	Z30L1T3 - ~~...ditto..~~.		* <tt>Z30L1T3</tt> - Trust me, the people who try to crack systems think they invented typing like this.

	I hope that these examples emphasize that ANY password derived from ANY dictionary word (or personal information), modified in ANY way, constitutes a potentially guessable password.		I hope that these examples emphasize that ANY password derived from ANY dictionary word (or personal information), modified in ANY way, constitutes a potentially guessable password.

imported>Huston: Merged password topics into here

2007-05-09T20:47:47Z

Merged password topics into here

Show changes

imported>Huston: Tagging inuse

2007-05-09T20:28:35Z

Tagging inuse

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:28, 9 May 2007
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			{{inuse\|a short while --[[User:Huston\|huston]] 16:28, 9 May 2007 (EDT)}}
	{{oldfaq\|NUM=56}}		{{oldfaq\|NUM=56}}

imported>Huston at 03:07, 4 May 2007

2007-05-04T03:07:13Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:07, 4 May 2007
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	{{oldfaq\|NUM=56}}		{{oldfaq\|NUM=56}}

			Note that passwords are not the same as [[Passphrases\|passphrases]]. A password is usually fairly short (6-15 characters) and less secure than passphrases.

	*[[Generating Passwords]]		*[[Generating Passwords]]
	*[[Changing Passwords]]		*[[Changing Passwords]]
	*[[Password Warnings]]		*[[Password Warnings]]

imported>Lkoven: New page: {{oldfaq|NUM=56}} Generating Passwords Changing Passwords *Password Warnings

2007-05-02T19:36:18Z

New page: {{oldfaq|NUM=56}} *Generating Passwords *Changing Passwords *Password Warnings

New page

{{oldfaq|NUM=56}}
*[[Generating Passwords]]
*[[Changing Passwords]]
*[[Password Warnings]]