On Fri, 3 Sep 1999, Daniel Barclay wrote: : > From: Nathan E Norman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> : > : > On Thu, 2 Sep 1999, Marc Mongeon wrote: : > : > : How do I disable the password-checking feature of passwd? I'm willing : > : to accept moderately complex passwords that passwd wants to throw : > : out. `man passwd` gives me nothing, and I'm not certain where else to : > : look-- is this the doings of PAM? : : > RTFM passwd.c; : ^^ : (The source code is not the FM.)
Oh? In this case I'd say it is :) Read on ... : > passwd tries to prevent lusers from : > using crappy passwords. This is generally accepted as a feature. : : Features should be controllable by the system administrator. Lucky for the system administrator, the code is sitting RIGHT THERE, waiting to be controlled. I don't know any serious admins who like non-robust passwords on there servers, but YMMV. You could be on to something on the home PC front, however ... Fortunately, you or anyone else who gets a lot of heartburn over this "feature" could change the code to make the password check optional, and perhaps submit a patch. I'm disappointed that no-one responded to my first solution - running `passwd' as root gives one the option of ignoring the strength check. In my opinion, THIS is a non-feature (but I've taken my advice and fixed it in the code). : > : It is particularly annoying because it reminds me of the Windows design : > : philosophy: "I know better than you do what you're trying to do." : > : > Windows lets you ignore passwords altogether and isn't really known as a : > secure OS ... : : How does Windows' unsecurability diminish the undesirability of the : design philosophy mentioned above? It doesn't. Sorry I brought it up (oh, that's right - I was merely responding to the original author's pseudo-flame regarding the behavior of `passwd'.) Nevertheless I concede that Windows sucking does not in any way enhance Linux. HAND, -- Nathan Norman MidcoNet 410 South Phillips Avenue Sioux Falls, SD mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.midco.net finger [EMAIL PROTECTED] for PGP Key: (0xA33B86E9)
