Illegal password characters

[Mihails Nikitins]

The topic about illegal password characters has been discussed recently.

http://my1.itrc.hp.com/cm/QuestionAnswer/1,1150,0xe05068c57f64d4118fee0090279cd0f9,00.html

I discovered that character '!' works in passwords and '@' character does not.
I use HP-UX 10.20.

Question: is it potentially dangerous to use '!' character in passwords even it seem working?

[Rick Garland · Accepted solution]

I don't believe it is dangerous. I have been using the character for years. I would also say that the more obscure you can make a passwd the safer you are againest programs like crack. I have run my passwd through crack on several occassions and it is not deciphered. To me, it adds another variable to the passwds that deviatiates from the norm and to what most users do.

[Bill Hassell]

I would not recommend using any special characters in a password (or for that matter, in a user ID) simply because you probably use more than one type of computer, at least once in a while. Operating system manufacturers seldom consult each other about the design of login and password rules so what works on PC's may not work on a MAC or on a Unix system. Or for that matter, what works on HP-UX Trusted System may not work on HP-UX non-trusted. And most people tend to minimize the number of different passwords they by applying them to all the machines they use.

Avoid any characters that are not alphanumeric and you'll virtually always be safe no matter what the machine might be. This also means no spaces too.

[Victor BERRIDGE]

Under HP I have always asked for standard system console (us keyboard) so no trouble,
because I go regularly trough this on AIX boxes with our swiss-french keyboard:when it comes to installing or system crash..., the system coming up in single user it asks you you passwd, if it has no knoledge of your keyboard customization it defaults to US, I can tell you that you you dont have a US keyborad mapping somewhere or in head you are quite stuck..

[Mihails Nikitins]

Thank you for your comments. I keep root passwords as secure as I can, so, if I can gain root access from console and my workstation, it is sufficient. I felt concern about
about password stability (existence of bugs and problems, e.g. upgrading from HP-UX 10.20 to HP-UX 11.0 ).