This is the README for pam_pwcheck ---------------------------------- pam_pwcheck comes as one module: pam_pwcheck.so It makes additional checks upon password changes, but it doesn't make the change itself. It only provides functions for "passwd", not for authentication, accounting or session management. This PAM module reads /etc/login.defs. Please read the manual page for this configuration file for more information. Options for: passwd: for password checking it provides the pam_sm_chauthtok() hook. "debug", "not_set_pass", "use_first_pass", "use_authtok", "md5", "bigcrypt", "blowfish" and "use_cracklib" arguments are accepted. "nullok" -> A null password is Ok. This does not overwrite a hardcoded default by the calling process. "not_set_pass" -> Don't make password available for other modules. "use_first_pass" -> Use only the old password from a previous stacked module. "use_authtok" -> Set the new password to the one provided by the previously stacked password module. "md5", "bigcrypt" -> Don't use the standard crypt function, instead use md5 hashes or the bigcrypt function. "blowfish", "bf" -> Use blowfish crypt. "use_cracklib" -> Use cracklib library for password check pam_pwcheck also uses some variables from /etc/login.defs: PASS_ALWAYS_WARN, PASS_MIN_LEN, PASS_MAX_LEN, OBSCURE_CHECKS_ENAB, CRACKLIB_DICTPATH and PASS_CHANGE_TRIES. Please read the login.defs manual page from the shadow package for more information. Thorsten Kukuk , 5. January 2002