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A random password generator is a software program or hardware device that takes input from a random or pseudo-random number generator and automatically generates a password. Random passwords can be generated manually, using simple sources of randomness such as dice or coins , or they can be generated using a computer.
The above calculations of the Diceware algorithm's entropy assume that, as recommended by Diceware's author, each word is separated by a space. If, instead, words are simply concatenated, the calculated entropy is slightly reduced due to redundancy; for example, the three-word Diceware phrases "in put clammy" and "input clam my" become ...
Systems that use passwords for authentication must have some way to check any password entered to gain access. If the valid passwords are simply stored in a system file or database, an attacker who gains sufficient access to the system will obtain all user passwords, giving the attacker access to all accounts on the attacked system and possibly other systems where users employ the same or ...
In computing, entropy is the randomness collected by an operating system or application for use in cryptography or other uses that require random data. This randomness is often collected from hardware sources (variance in fan noise or HDD), either pre-existing ones such as mouse movements or specially provided randomness generators.
When the entropy pool is empty, reads from /dev/random will block until additional environmental noise is gathered. [7] The intent is to serve as a cryptographically secure pseudorandom number generator, delivering output with entropy as large as possible. This is suggested by the authors for use in generating cryptographic keys for high-value ...
Yarrow accumulates entropy into two pools: the fast pool, which provides frequent reseeds of the key to keep the duration of key compromises as short as possible; the slow pool, which provides rare but conservative reseeds of the key. This makes sure that the reseed is secured even when the entropy estimates are very optimistic.
Data Protection Application Programming Interface (DPAPI) is a simple cryptographic application programming interface available as a built-in component in Windows 2000 and later versions of Microsoft Windows operating systems. In theory, the Data Protection API can enable symmetric encryption of any kind of data; in practice, its primary use in ...
There are several "pools" of entropy; each entropy source distributes its alleged entropy evenly over the pools; and (here is the key idea) on the nth reseeding of the generator, pool k is used only if n is a multiple of 2 k. Thus, the kth pool is used only 1/2 k of the time. Higher-numbered pools, in other words, (1) contribute to reseedings ...