893 B
893 B
cracklib
CrackLib tests passwords to determine whether they match certain security-oriented characteristics. You can use CrackLib to stop users from choosing passwords which would be easy to guess. CrackLib performs certain tests:
- It tries to generate words from a username and gecos entry and checks those words against the password;
- It checks for simplistic patterns in passwords;
- It checks for the password in a dictionary.
CrackLib is actually a library containing a particular C function which is used to check the password, as well as other C functions. CrackLib is not a replacement for a passwd program; it must be used in conjunction with an existing passwd program.
Install the cracklib package if you need a program to check users' passwords to see if they are at least minimally secure. If you install CrackLib, you'll also want to install the cracklib-dicts package.