[Thamesvalley-pm] password strength check

[Greg Matthews]

I need to do a password strength check. Is there a perl shortcut 
(interface to cracklib maybe?) that I can use?

I have an old script here that does password strength checking and I'm 
pretty sure it comes from a perl book but I cant find which one. The 
main meat of the script is a subroutine called goodenough(). The reason 
I think its lifted from a book is this comment part way thru the subroutine:

     # Check for naughty words.   :-)

     # (Add the traditional naughty words to the list sometime
     # when your mother isn't watching.  We didn't want to
     # print them in a family-oriented book like this one...)

If I end up recycling this code, I'd like to check for errata/discussion 
that may have been published. Does anyone recognise it from this short 
description? A full grep list of the comments is given below

GREG

###############################################################
#                                                             #
# This subroutine is the whole reason for this program.  It   #
# checks for many different kinds of bad password.  We don't  #
# tell people what kind of pattern they MUST have, because    #
# that would reduce the search space unnecessarily.           #
#                                                             #
# goodenough() returns 1 if password passes muster, else 0.   #
#                                                             #
###############################################################
     # Embedded null can spoof crypt routine.
     # Same password they just had?
     # Too much like the old password?
     # Too short?  Get progressively nastier.
     # Is it in one of the dictionaries?
	# First check the BADPATS file.
	# Truncate common suffixes before searching dict.
	# We'll iterate over several dictionaries.
	    # Do the lookup (dictionary order, case folded)
     # Now check for two word-combinations.  This gets hairy.
     # We look up everything that starts with the same first
     # two letters as the password, and if the word matches the
     # head of the password, we save the rest of the password
     # in %others to be looked up later.  Passwords which have
     # a single char before or after a word are special-cased.
     # We take pains to disallow things like "CamelAte",
     # "CameLate" and "CamElate" but allow things like
     # "CamelatE" or "CameLAte".
     # If the password is exactly 8 characters, we also have
     # to disallow passwords that consist of a word plus the
     # BEGINNING of another word, such as "CamelFle", which
     # will warn you about "camel" and "flea".
     # Check for naughty words.   :-)
     # (Add the traditional naughty words to the list sometime
     # when your mother isn't watching.  We didn't want to
     # print them in a family-oriented book like this one...)
     # Does it look like a date?
     # Login id?
     # My own name?
     # My host name?
     # License plate number?
     # A function key?  (This pattern checks Sun-style fn keys.)
     # A sequence of closely related ASCII characters?
     # A sequence of keyboard keys?
     # Repeated patterns: ababab, abcabc, abcdabcd
     # Reversed patterns: abccba abcddcba
     # Some other login name?
     # A local host name?
     # Reversed login id?
     # Previously used?

-- 
Greg Matthews           01491 692445
Head of UNIX/Linux, iTSS Wallingford

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