makepasswd - generate and/or encrypt passwords

       Copyright  (c)  1997-1998  by  lilo  <lilo@linpeople.org>.   All rights are reserved by the author.  This
       program may be used under the terms of version 2 of the GNU Public License.

makepasswd  generates  true  random  passwords  using  /dev/urandom,  with  the emphasis on security over
       pronounceability.  It can also encrypt plaintext passwords given on the command line.

makepasswd  was  originally part of the mkircconf program used to centrally administer the Linux Internet
       Support Cooperative IRC network.  It may potentially be of use in any situation where passwords  must  be
       secure and need not be memorized by humans.

       Colin Watson modified it to use Bytes::Random::Secure.

       makepasswd - generate and/or encrypt passwords

--charsN
              Generate passwords with exactly N characters (do not use with options --minchars and --maxchars).

       --clearfromFILE
              Use password from FILE instead of generating passwords.  Requires the --crypt or  the  --crypt-md5
              options;  may  not be used with these options: --chars, --maxchars, --minchars, --count, --string,
              --nocrypt.  Trailing newlines are removed but other white space is not.

       --countN
              Produce a total of N passwords (the default is one).

       --crypt
              Produce encrypted passwords.

       --crypt-md5
              Produce encrypted passwords using the MD5 digest (hash) algorithm.

       --cryptsaltN
              Use crypt() salt N, a positive number <= 4096.  If random seeds are desired, specify a zero  value
              (the default).

       --help Ignore other operands and produce only a help display.

       --maxcharsN
              Generate passwords with at most N characters (default = 10).

       --mincharsN
              Generate passwords with at least N characters (default = 8).

       --nocrypt
              Do not encrypt the generated password(s) (the default).

       --noverbose
              Display no labels on output (the default).

       --randomseedN
              Use  random  number  seed  N, between 0 and 2^32 inclusive.  A zero value results in a real-random
              seed.  This generates much less secure passwords than the  default;  not  only  does  it  generate
              predictable  passwords  due  to the fixed seed, but the range of available seeds is 32 bits rather
              than the default of 256 bits, and cannot be changed  without  breaking  expectations  of  previous
              users of this option.  If possible, do not use this option.

       --rerandomN
              Set  the  random  seed  value  every  N values used.  Specify zero to use a single seed value (the
              default). Specify one to get true-random passwords, though note that  doing  this  too  frequently
              will deplete the supply of entropy available in the kernel's entropy pool.

       --repeatpassN
              Use each password N times (4096 maximum, --crypt must be set and --cryptsalt may not be set).

       --stringSTRING
              Use the characters in STRING to generate random passwords.

       --verbose
              Display labelling information on output.

passwd(5)

Debian Distribution                              1998 February 9                                   makepasswd(1)

makepasswd  [  --charsN  ]  [  --clearfromfile ] [ --countN ] [ --crypt|--nocrypt|--crypt-md5 ] [
       --cryptsaltN ] [ --help ] [ --maxcharsN ] [ --mincharsN ] [ --randomseedN  ]  [  --rerandomN  ]  [
       --repeatpassN ] [ --stringstring ] [ --verbose|--noverbose ]