using redhat 4 ES...

trying to change a password and getting:

BAD PASSWORD: it is based on a dictionary word

no matter how may times you try, it never accepts the password. i need to shut this off and ALLOW simple passwords.

can someone please tell me how to do this?

jjd228, rather than encouraging a bad practice, I would suggest: Take the password you tried, and insert a couple numerics and at least one special character (e.g. !@#$%^&).

Following that should not make it prohibitively difficult to memorize.

ugh.... why did i KNOW someone would say that instead of simply helping?

yes... im well aware... however i NEED to do this. so if you know how, please tell me. if not, please move on and keep your opinions to yourself please.

thank you

Where does the need arise from? If I can't see a real good
reason to help someone to climb the fence that stops him from
jumping of the bridge I certainly won't do it.



Cheers,
Tink

wow... you guys are really something else.

im simply asking HOW to do something that the OS certainly allows you to do in some way. why i might want to do it is absolutely no concern. again... if you have an answer to the technical question i asked, then answer it. afterall, thats what the forum is here for, correct? if not, simply amuse yourself with the next question. im really not looking for subjective opinions, i came here with an actual question.

Man, you really are something else.

It's not about subjective opinion, it's about a person
who might be putting a badly protected machine on a
network where it then can become a hazard to others.

Just like with the guy on the bridge. The person who
wants to climb the fence may think it's none of my
business why he wants to - I, however, am concerned with
the safety of the people who may be driving their cars
under that bridge. If you don't like that response, just
move on and ask a sensible question.

The forums may be here to help with technical questions,
but not at the expense of responsible use and best practice.



Cheers,
Tink

Presumably you came here to learn, and just because you don't like the answer you're getting doesn't mean you should disregard it.

You're asking for help in opening the most commonly exploited security hole on your box - weak passwords.

You were asked a simple question: "where does the need arise from?" Instead of answering, you moaned some more. Either 1) take the good advice of people who were kind enough to respond to your asinine request; or 2) take the initiative to research how to turn your box into script kiddie central on your own.

To disable the password complexity, at least with Ubuntu, you have to edit /etc/pam.d/command-password. Not sure how it works in RedHat or where that file is.

You can also FORCE a simple password as root user. Log in as root, if you can, and set the password up manually for that user. It will tell you that the password is based on a dictionary, but it will grant it as long as it comes from the root. I do this on my Ubuntu machine and it works.



Guys, just give him what he wants. Maybe he wants to make a honeypot or use a dictionary cracker on himself to test it out.