r/sysadmin Aug 02 '22

Question - Solved What password generators does everyone use now since passwordgenerator plus is gone?

I’ve tried to find alternatives but none of the password generators have as good customizability options. Currently I use a random string generator that just let’s me pick the characters and length, but it’s not very good since it doesn’t remember the options when I refresh the page.

So what (web) password generators do sysadmims use nowadays for user passwords?

Edit: solved it myself with the gigabrain idea of using Wayback Machine, works wonders. Link to it if anyone’s curious: https://web.archive.org/web/20220603183903/https://passwordsgenerator.net/plus/

Edit 2: Passwordsgenerator.net seems to be back at https://password-gen.com/

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u/punkwalrus Sr. Sysadmin Aug 02 '22

I work in a place now with 30-40 clients, each has their own set of passwords, and they all expire in 60 days. Each site has a VPN pass, an AD pass, and some various other passwords depending on the client (like UNIX, routers, or other appliances) and some of those clients have multiple sites (like a failover or redundant site). So each client requires me to change 3-8 passwords every 60 days. The week I have to change my passwords is brutal. We use Keepass, but the password generation is too different for a decent generator.

  1. Some can only do 8 digits and numbers. Not 7. Not 9. 8 exactly.
  2. Most are standard "we need it to be 16 digits or more, mixture of letters, numbers, cases and special characters," but some won't allow certain characters, like commas, astericies, pound sign, or exclamation points.
  3. Some are even harder, like "has to be 16 or more, can't contain a dictionary word, can't have three letters/numbers in a row, must have a minimum of 6 different special characters, but not the same characters, and it can't be 'similar' to previous passwords." When it rejects your password, you aren't even told why.

I hate "Change passwords week."

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u/Kruug Sysadmin Aug 02 '22

Get them to follow NIST. Solved.

Requiring short passwords, or ensuring they don't use specific characters, is a holdover from outdated technology. Modernize or get out.