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)