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.\" Copyright (C) 1997-1998 Johnie Ingram (johnie@debian.org).
.\"
.\" This is free documentation; you can redistribute it and/or
.\" modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
.\" published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of
.\" the License, or (at your option) any later version.
.\"
.\" This page is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
.\" but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
.\" MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
.\" GNU General Public License for more details.
.\"
.\" You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public
.\" License along with this manual; if not, write to the Free
.\" Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139,
.\" USA.
.\"
.TH makepasswd 1 "1998 February 9" "Debian Distribution" "UNIX Reference Manual"
.SH NAME
makepasswd \- generate and/or encrypt passwords
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B makepasswd
[
.B \--chars
.I N
]
[
.B \--clearfrom
.I file
]
[
.B \--count
.I N
]
[
.B \--crypt | --nocrypt | --crypt-md5
]
[
.B \--cryptsalt
.I N
]
[
.B \--help
]
[
.B \--maxchars
.I N
]
[
.B \--minchars
.I N
]
[
.B \--randomseed
.I N
]
[
.B \--rerandom
.I N
]
[
.B \--repeatpass
.I N
]
[
.B \--string
.I string
]
[
.B \--verbose | --noverbose
]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.LP
.B makepasswd
generates true random passwords by using the /dev/random feature of
Linux, with the emphasis on security over pronounceability. It can
also encrypt plaintext passwords given on the command line.
.SH OPTIONS
.TP
.B --chars N
Generate passwords with exactly N characters (do not use with options
--minchars and --maxchars).
.TP
.B --clearfrom FILE
Use password from FILE instead of generating passwords. Requires
the --crypt or the --crypt-md5
options; may not be used with these options: --chars, --maxchars, --minchars,
--count, --string, --nocrypt. Trailing newlines are removed but other white
space is not.
.TP
.B --count N
Produce a total of N passwords (the default is one).
.TP
.B --crypt
Produce encrypted passwords.
.TP
.B --crypt-md5
Produce encrypted passwords using the MD5 digest (hash) algorithm.
.TP
.B --cryptsalt N
Use crypt() salt N, a positive number <= 4096. If random seeds are
desired, specify a zero value (the default).
.TP
.B --help
Ignore other operands and produce only a help display.
.TP
.B --maxchars N
Generate passwords with at most N characters (default = 8).
.TP
.B --minchars N
Generate passwords with at least N characters (default = 6).
.TP
.B --nocrypt
Do not encrypt the generated password(s) (the default).
.TP
.B --noverbose
Display no labels on output (the default).
.TP
.B --randomseed N
Use random number seed N, between 0 and 2^32 inclusive. A zero value
results in a real-random seed.
.TP
.B --rerandom N
Set the random seed value every N values used. Specify zero to use a
single seed value (the default). Specify one to get true-random
passwords, but plan on hitting the CONTROL key a lot while it's
running. The Linux entropy device is quickly depleted and keystroke
intervals are one source of new randomness.
.TP
.B --repeatpass N
Use each password N times (4096 maximum, --crypt must be set and
--cryptsalt may not be set).
.TP
.B --string STRING
Use the characters in STRING to generate random passwords.
.TP
.B --verbose
Display labelling information on output.
.SH HISTORY
.LP
.B makepasswd
was originally part of the
.B mkircconf
program used to centrally administer the Linux Internet Support
Cooperative IRC network. It may potentially be of use in any
situation where passwords must be secure and need not be memorized by
humans.
.SH COPYRIGHT
.LP
Copyright (c) 1997-1998 by lilo <lilo@linpeople.org>. All rights are
reserved by the author. This program may be used under the terms of
version 2 of the GNU Public License.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.LP
.BR passwd (5)
|
