Generating passwords: useful programs

Randomly generated passwords are considered the most reliable: they are much more difficult to crack than passwords,composed by a pattern (say, a sequence of numbers) or based on personal information. Typically, the generation of passwords is carried out using a special algorithm - a generator of pseudo-random numbers.

Generation of passwords can be carried out through various programs, as well as online services. All of them are based on a generatorpseudorandom numbers and act on a similar principle. You need to choose the length of the password, the categories of characters for the password and the number of passwords you need, and then the program will generate them for you.

Ideally, the minimum length of a secure password should be 12-14 characters, it is desirable to include symbols from all possible categories (Arabic numerals, Latin letters of upper and lowerlower case, allowed special characters). But if on the site for which you need a password, there are restrictions on the number of characters or not allowed to use special characters in the password, you will have to comply with the requirements.

Some services and programs allow generating not only pseudo-random passwords resembling abracadabra, but also easy to remember passwords. Generating passwords of this type is based onthe laws of natural language, ie, such passwords remind not just a set of symbols, but words, although in fact they are not. Special characters and numbers are located at the end of such a "word".

So, you needed to generate passwords. What programs can I use? One of the simplest programs is called - Password Generator (password generator). It is free and does not require installation, but is run directly from the exe-file. The interface of the program is English-language, but it is quite easy to understand it.

Generates passwords up to 20characters that can be distributed between the Latin letters of upper and lower case, numbers and special characters. In the settings, you can choose which special characters will be used. You can generate up to 1000 passwords at a time, the program allows you to copy them to the clipboard or save as a text file.

The Russian-language analogue of this program is a program Password generator (the current version is 2.0.1) from the developer Denis Voronov. First of all, it is intended for system administrators, but ordinary users can use it for their own needs. It supports the generation of passwords of different lengths, you can choose the number of generated passwords, exclude certain groups of characters and similar symbols. The program does not require installation, but its operation requires the msvbvm60.dll library.

Users of Unix-like operating systems can use passwords to generate passwords. console utility pwgen. To generate a password, enter the command:

pwgen [options] [number of characters in the password] [number of generated passwords]

What password creation options can I use? Here are some of them:

• 
  -0 - generate password without digits
• 
  -1 - print each password in a separate line
• 
  -B - generate a password that does not contain letters and digits that can be confused (say, 0 and 0)
• 
  -A - do not include capital letters in the password
• 
  -s - include at least one capital letter in the password

It is possible to generate passwords according to SHA1 the sum of the specified file and the filter (this will help generate this password again, if you forget it), as well as the generation of random passwords without characters that can be confused, and completely random passwords, difficult to remember.

But there is not enough password to generate - it must be remembered. Random sets of signs are remembered hard,so the password must either be written down or saved in a special password manager. Keep the paper with the password with you (say, in your wallet) and do not leave it near the computer. It is highly discouraged to store passwords in public files.