Tag Archives: password

Extract WhatsApp Password on Android

WhatsApp uses a customised version of XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) as the communication protocol. Upon installation, it creates a user account using one’s phone number (with country code prefix) as the username (Jabber ID: [phone number]@s.whatsapp.net). A password is generated using an unknown algorithm on the server end and sent to the client. Previously the password was derived from the phone’s IMEI or the WiFi MAC address.

Shell Script with Password Prompt

shell script

At work, I have a couple of shell scripts to perform LDAP queries. Initially the scripts were hard-coded with the login credentials of a read-only user. But as the scripts were enhanced to handle LDAP query updates, I realised that it was not a good idea anymore to hard-code the username and password as I was just inviting trouble. And the scripts will be a big NO during system audit.

Generate Random Password on Linux

Linux has all the tools you need to generate a random password. This can be accomplished by a special file /dev/random, that serves as a random number generator.

How to Intrepret Shadow Passwords in UNIX

In modern UNIX and Linux systems, user passwords are encrypted and stored in the /etc/shadow file. On BSD systems, the passwords are kept in the /etc/master.passwd file. The encrypted password field in the file contains more than just the encrypted password, it contains additional information.

Reset MySQL root Password

database

If you have set a root password for MySQL previously, but have forgotten what it was, you can reset the password without much hassle.

Reveal Password Fields in Firefox

Never leave your Firefox browser unattended with your password keyed in. Your password can be stolen even before you know it.