RE: Using non-printable characters in passwords

["Chris Berry" <compjma () hotmail com>]

> From: Meidinger Chris <chris.meidinger () badenit de>
> I know you don't want to hear this, but remember that MS Windows NT or 2000
> running in hybrid mode uses an NTLM hash to represent the password. This
> hash represents only 7 characters, meaning that if you have a 21 character
> password, it is really 3 consecutive 7 character passwords. Thus your 21
> char pass is barely stronger than a 7 character password. For this reaason
> complexity is very important in windows, and not length.
>
> just a reminder for anyone in a windows environment who is setting password
> requirements.

That's only correct if you're using LM and/or haven't made the registry 
change to get rid of the backwards compatibility mode.  NTLM and NTLMv2 do 
not suffer from this problem.

Chris Berry
compjma () hotmail com
Systems Administrator
JM Associates

"Q: How many software engineers does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: It can't be done; it's a hardware problem."

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