string::mkpasswd(3pm) [debian man page]

String::MkPasswd(3pm)					User Contributed Perl Documentation				     String::MkPasswd(3pm)

NAME

       String::MkPasswd - random password generator

SYNOPSIS

	 use String::MkPasswd qw(mkpasswd);

	 print mkpasswd();

	 # for the masochisticly paranoid...
	 print mkpasswd(
	     -length	 => 27,
	     -minnum	 => 5,
	     -minlower	 => 1,	 # minlower is increased if necessary
	     -minupper	 => 5,
	     -minspecial => 5,
	     -distribute => 1,
	 );

ABSTRACT

       This Perl library defines a single function, "mkpasswd()", to generate random passwords.  The function is meant to be a simple way for
       developers and system administrators to easily generate a relatively secure password.

DESCRIPTION

       The exportable "mkpasswd()" function returns a single scalar: a random password.  By default, this password is nine characters long with a
       random distribution of four lower-case characters, two upper-case characters, two digits, and one non-alphanumeric character.  These
       parameters can be tuned by the user, as described in the "ARGUMENTS" section.

   ARGUMENTS
       The "mkpasswd()" function takes an optional hash of arguments.

       -length
	   The total length of the password.  The default is 9.

       -minnum
	   The minimum number of digits that will appear in the final password.  The default is 2.

       -minlower
	   The minimum number of lower-case characters that will appear in the final password.	The default is 2.

       -minupper
	   The minimum number of upper-case characters that will appear in the final password.	The default is 2.

       -minspecial
	   The minimum number of non-alphanumeric characters that will appear in the final password.  The default is 1.

       -distribute
	   If set to a true value, password characters will be distributed between the left- and right-hand sides of the keyboard.  This makes it
	   more difficult for an onlooker to see the password as it is typed.  The default is false.

       -fatal
	   If set to a true value, "mkpasswd()" will Carp::croak() rather than return "undef" on error.  The default is false.

       If -minnum, -minlower, -minupper, and -minspecial do not add up to -length, -minlower will be increased to compensate.  However, if
       -minnum, -minlower, -minupper, and -minspecial add up to more than -length, then "mkpasswd()" will return "undef".  See the section
       entitled "EXCEPTION HANDLING" for how to change this behavior.

   EXCEPTION HANDLING
       By default, "mkpasswd()" will return "undef" if it cannot generate a password.  Some people are inclined to exception handling, so
       String::MkPasswd does its best to accommodate them.  If the variable $String::MkPasswd::FATAL is set to a true value, "mkpasswd()" will
       Carp::croak() with an error instead of returning "undef".

   EXPORT
       None by default.  The "mkpasswd()" method is exportable.

SEE ALSO

       <http://expect.nist.gov/#examples>, mkpasswd(1)

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

       Don Libes of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, who wrote the Expect example, mkpasswd(1).

AUTHOR

       Chris Grau <cgrau@cpan.org>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

       Copyright (C) 2003-2010 by Chris Grau

       This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself, either Perl version 5.8.1 or,
       at your option, any later version of Perl 5 you may have available.

perl v5.10.1							    2010-10-18						     String::MkPasswd(3pm)

Check Out this Related Man Page

MKPASSWD(1)						      General Commands Manual						       MKPASSWD(1)

NAME

       mkpasswd - generate new password, optionally apply it to a user

SYNOPSIS

       mkpasswd [ args ] [ user ]

INTRODUCTION

       mkpasswd generates passwords and can apply them automatically to users.	mkpasswd is based on the code from Chapter 23 of the O'Reilly book
       "Exploring Expect".

USAGE

       With no arguments, mkpasswd returns a new password.

	    mkpasswd

       With a user name, mkpasswd assigns a new password to the user.

	    mkpasswd don

       The passwords are randomly generated according to the flags below.

FLAGS

       The -l flag defines the length of the password.	The default is 9.  The following example creates a 20 character password.

	    mkpasswd -l 20

       The -d flag defines the minimum number of digits that must be in the password.  The default is 2.  The following example creates a password
       with at least 3 digits.

	    mkpasswd -d 3

       The -c flag defines the minimum number of lowercase alphabetic characters that must be in the password.	The default is 2.

       The -C flag defines the minimum number of uppercase alphabetic characters that must be in the password.	The default is 2.

       The -s flag defines the minimum number of special characters that must be in the password.  The default is 1.

       The -p flag names a program to set the password.  By default, /etc/yppasswd is used if present, otherwise /bin/passwd is used.

       The  -2 flag causes characters to be chosen so that they alternate between right and left hands (qwerty-style), making it harder for anyone
       watching passwords being entered.  This can also make it easier for a password-guessing program.

       The -v flag causes the password-setting interaction to be visible.  By default, it is suppressed.

EXAMPLE

       The following example creates a 15-character password that contains at least 3 digits and 5 uppercase characters.

	    mkpasswd -l 15 -d 3 -C 5

SEE ALSO

       "Exploring Expect: A Tcl-Based Toolkit for Automating Interactive Programs" by Don Libes, O'Reilly and Associates, January 1995.

AUTHOR

       Don Libes, National Institute of Standards and Technology

       mkpasswd is in the public domain.  NIST and I would appreciate credit if this program or parts of it are used.

								  22 August 1994						       MKPASSWD(1)

Linux and UNIX Man Pages

string::mkpasswd(3pm) [debian man page]

Check Out this Related Man Page