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Re: Linux checks only 8 chars of the password...



On Mon, 13 Sep 1999, Gernot Bauer wrote:

> I was wondering, why Linux only checks 8 characters of the
> login-password. I use a much longer password and would like my system
> to check everything of it. Is there a flag I can set that the whole
> password is verified?

You're stuck with it.  The format of the password file only has room for 8
characters of meaningful data.  This is a holdover from ancient times, I
don't think the password file has changed much in 20 years or more.

Anyway, 8 meaningful characters is plenty for adequate security provided
that your password is a good one.


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