Improving System Security via Proactive Password Checking


Published: Feb 26, 2000 Updated: Feb 26, 2000 Section: Network Security Library :: Auth. & Access Control Author: Printable Version Adjust font size: Rating: 3/5 - 6 Votes 1 2 3 4 5

As the Internet has grown, its user community has changed from a small tight knit group of researchers to a loose gathering of people on a global network. The amazing and constantly growing numbers of machines and users ensures that untrustworthy individuals have full access to that network. High speed inter-machine communication and even higher speed computational processors have made the threats of system "crackers", data theft, data corruption very real. This paper outlines some of the problems of current password security by demonstrating the ease by which individual accounts may be broken. Various techniques used by crackers are outlined, and finally one solution to this point of system vulnerability, a proactive password checker, is documented.

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