From: Meidinger Chris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 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 [EMAIL PROTECTED] 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."
_________________________________________________________________
MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------