Preventing Trivial Passwords

[roadrunner_1]

How do I prevent users from having trivial passwords like their user name, easily guessable passwords, month etc...

Is there a way this can be done???

[Sean OB_1]

What OS?

Are you running Trusted System?

[Martin Burnett_2]

Hello,

The easiest way to do this is by making your system "Trusted" and implementing password restrictions. For more information see
http://www.docs.hp.com/cgi-bin/fsearch/framedisplay?top=/hpux/onlinedocs/B2355-90742/B2355-90742_top.html&con=/hpux/onlinedocs/B2355-90742/00/00/66-con.html&toc=/hpux/onlinedocs/B2355-90742/00/00/66-toc.html&searchterms=Trusted&queryid=20020829-072930

Thanks for participating in the forums,

Martin
Chaos reigns within. Reflect, repent, and reboot. Order shall return.

[Chris Wilshaw]

You either need to write a wrapper around the existing passwd command to pre-validate their entry, or you may be able to obtain a suitable utility on the internet.

[doug hosking]

You might also check libpam patch PHCO_24390 or equivalent, which adds a new feature:

A site's security policies sometimes require new passwords
to contain specific numbers or types of characters, such as
at least two digits and at least one special character.
Resolution:
In addition to the standard password requirements,
optional entries in the file /etc/default/security specify
the minimum number of required characters of each type
(upper case characters, lower case characters, digits
and special characters) in a new password.
PASSWORD_MIN_UPPER_CASE_CHARS=N
PASSWORD_MIN_LOWER_CASE_CHARS=N
PASSWORD_MIN_DIGIT_CHARS=N
PASSWORD_MIN_SPECIAL_CHARS=N
The default value for N is 0. These parameters have
effect only when a password is changed. On untrusted
systems, these parameters do not apply to the root user.
The file /etc/default/security should be owned by root and
have 0644 permissions.
As an example, to require passwords at least 8 characters
long, composed of at least 5 upper case characters, 2
lower case characters and a digit, include the following
lines in /etc/default/security, as specified above:
PASSWORD_MIN_UPPER_CASE_CHARS=5
PASSWORD_MIN_LOWER_CASE_CHARS=2
PASSWORD_MIN_DIGIT_CHARS=1

[harry d brown jr]

If you don't like the idea of trusted, look into using LDAP.

live free or die
harry

[Sean OB_1]

Just a reminder to give points out to those who answered your questions. It only takes a moment, and helps make the forums more useful to everyone.

Sean