Choosing Good Password Rules and Password generation Tools

      For every administrator Choosing a good password, and changing it often, will make it difficult for hackers, crackers, or even someone you know, to make educated guesses about what you've chosen. Here are some tips to help you choose a good password:

Don't Use:

• Your name - any part of it (first, last, middle, or intials)
• Your social security number
• Names of friends, family, or pets
• Birthdates
• Phone numbers or addresses
• Any other personal information that could be guessed
• Place names
• Words from the English dictionary
• Words from a foreign dictionary
• Your username or login name
• Your computer's name
• Repetition of the same letter
• Sequences of keyboard keys, such as "12345" or "qwerty", or sequences of letters such as "abcde"
• Any minor variation of the above, such as spelling your name backwards or appending a character to the end of your name

Do Use:

• Six or more characters
• A mix of upper and lower-case letters (placing capital letters in random locations throughout a password is also highly effective)
• A password you can type quickly, without having to look at the keyboard. This will make it harder for someone to steal your password by looking over your shoulder.
• Nonsense words that are easy to pronounce (and to remember, so you don't have to write them down) but aren't listed in any dictionaries
• Note: A good way to choose a secure, but easy-to-remember password is to use the first character of each word in a phrase, poem, or song lyric. For instance, "Asb*Mf" stands for "April showers bring May flowers"; the asterisk in the middle is included for extra security. (But don't use this password now that it's been given as an example!)

    Password Generation tools in Debian

     Automatic password generation tools available in debian some of these tools and their brief details

    apg

    APG (Automated Password Generator) is the tool set for random password generation. It generates some random words of required type and prints them to standard output

      Check the apg man page for syntax and other details

     Install in Debian

     # apt-get install apg

     pwgen

     pwgen generates random, meaningless but pronounceable passwords. These passwords contain either only lowercase letters, or upper and lower case mixed, or digits thrown in. Uppercase letters and digits are placed in a way that eases remembering their position when memorizing only the word.

      Check the pwgen man page for syntax and other details

     Install in Debian

     # apt-get install pwgen

      gpw