- pwgen
- openssl
- gpg gpg2
- mkpasswd makepasswd
- md5sum
- /dev/urandom
- sha256sum
- sha1pass
- Recently we had written an article about password strength and password score check in our website.
It will help you to validate your password strength and score.
We can manually create few passwords which we required but if you would like to generate a password for multiple users or servers, what will be the solution.
Yes, there are many utilities are available in Linux to fulfill this requirements. However, I’m going to include the best five password generators in this article.
These tools will generates a strong random passwords for you. These are easy to use, that’s why I preferred to go with it. By default it will generate a strong password and if you would like to generate a super strong password then use the available options.
It will help you to generate a super strong password in the following combination. It should have minimum 12-15 characters length, that includes Alphabets (Lower case & Upper case), Numbers and Special Characters.
The list of tools are below.
openssl: The openssl program is a command line tool for using the
various cryptography functions of OpenSSL’s crypto library from the
shell.
gpg: OpenPGP encryption and signing tool
mkpasswd: generate new password, optionally apply it to a user
makepasswd: makepasswd generates true random passwords using
/dev/urandom, with the emphasis on security over pronounceability.
/dev/urandom file: The character special files /dev/random and
/dev/urandom (present since Linux 1.3.30) provide an interface to the
kernel’s random number generator.
md5sum: md5sum is a computer program that calculates and verifies
128-bit MD5 hashes. sha256sum: The program sha256sum is designed to
verify data integrity using the SHA-256 (SHA-2 family with a digest
length of 256 bits).
sha1pass: sha1pass creates a SHA1 password hash. In the absence of
salt value on the command line, a random salt vector will be
generated.
How to generate Random & Strong password in Linux using pwgen Command?
The pwgen program generates passwords which are designed to be easily memorized by humans, while being as secure as possible.Human-memorable passwords are never going to be as secure as completely random passwords.
Use -s option to generate completely random, hard-to-memorize passwords. These should only be used for machine passwords as we can’t memorize.
For Fedora system, use DNF Command to install pwgen.
$ sudo dnf install pwgen
For Debian/Ubuntu systems, use APT-GET Command or APT Command to install pwgen.
$ sudo apt install pwgen
For Arch Linux based systems, use Pacman Command to install pwgen.
$ sudo pacman -S pwgen
For RHEL/CentOS systems, use YUM Command to install pwgen.
$ sudo yum install pwgen
For openSUSE Leap system, use Zypper Command to install pwgen.
$ sudo zypper install pwgen
How to use pwgen command in Linux?
It’s a simple and straight forward method. Use one of the below preferred examples for you. By default, it generates a human memorable password.
To do so, simple run the pwgen command on your terminal. It generates 160 passwords in a single shot. These 160 passwords are printed in 20 rows and 8 columns.
$ pwgen ameiK2oo aibi3Cha EPium0Ie aisoh1Ee Nidee9ae uNga0Bee uPh9ieM1 ahn1ooNg oc5ooTea tai7eKid tae2yieS hiecaiR8 wohY2Ohk Uab2maed heC4aXoh Ob6Nieso Shaeriu3 uy9Juk5u hoht7Doo Fah6yah3 faz9Jeew eKiek4ju as0Xuosh Eiwo4epo oot8teeZ Ui1yoohi Aechae7A Ohdi2ael cae5Thoh Au1aeTei ais0aiC2 Cai2quin Oox9ohz4 neev0Che ahza8AQu Ahz7eica meiBeeW0 Av3bo7ah quoiTu3f taeNg3ae Aiko7Aiz SheiGh8E aesaeSh7 haet6Loo AeTel3oN Ath7zeer IeYah4ie UG3ootha Ohch9Och Phuap6su iel5Xu7s diqui7Bu ieF2dier eeluHa1u Thagei0i Ceeth3oh OCei1ahj zei2aiYo Jahgh1ia ooqu1Cej eez2aiPo Wahd5soo noo7Mei9 Hie5ashe Uith4Or2 Xie3uh2b fuF9Eilu eiN2sha9 zae2YaSh oGh5ephi ohvao4Ae aixu6aeM fo4Ierah iephei6A hae9eeGa eiBeiY3g Aic8Kee9 he8AheCh ohM4bid9 eemae3Zu eesh2EiM cheiGa4j PooV2vii ahpeeg5E aezauX2c Xe7aethu Ahvaph7a Joh2heec Ii5EeShi aij7Uo8e ooy2Ahth mieKe2ni eiQuu8fe giedaQu0 eiPhob3E oox1uo2U eehia4Hu ga9Ahw0a ohxuZei7 eV4OoXio Kid2wu1n ku4Ahf5s uigh8uQu AhWoh0po vo1Eeb2u Ahth7ve5 ieje4eiL ieci1Ach Meephie9 iephieY8 Eesoom7u eakai2Bo uo8Ieche Zai3aev5 aGhahf0E Wowoo5th Oraeb0ah Gah3nah0 ieGhah0p aeCh0OhJ ahQu2feZ ahQu0gah foik7Ush cei1Wai1 Aivi3ooY eephei5U MooZae3O quooRoh7 aequae5U pae6Ceiv eizahF1k ohmi7ETa ahyaeK1N Mohw2no8 ooc8Oone coo7Ieve eePhei9h Weequ8eV Vie4iezu neeMiim4 ie6aiZoh Queegh2E shahwi3N Inichie8 Sid1aeji mohj4Ko7 lieDi0pe Zeemah6a thuevu2E phi4Ohsh paiKeix1 ooz1Ceph ahV4yore ue2laePh fu1eThui qui7aePh Fahth1nu ohk9puLo aiBeez0b Neengai5
To generate a secure random password, use -s option with pwgen command.
$ pwgen -s CU75lgZd 7HzzKgtA 2ktBJDpR F6XJVhBs UjAm3bNL zO7Dw7JJ pxn8fUvp Ka3lLilG ywJX7iJl D9ajxb6N 78c1HOg2 g8vtWCra Jp6pBGBw oYuev9Vl gbA6gHV8 G6XQoVO5 uQN98IU4 50GgQfrX FrTsou2t YQorO4x6 UGer8Yi2 O7DB5nw1 1ax370UR 1xVRPkA1 RVaGDr2i Nt11ekUd 9Vm3D244 ck8Lnpd0 SjDt8uWn 5ERT4tf8 4EONFzyY Jc6T83jg WZa6bKPW H4HMo1YU bsDDRik3 gBwV7LOW 9H1QRQ4x 3Ak7RcSe IJu2RBF9 e508xrLC SzTrW191 AslxDa6E IkWWov2b iOb6EmTy qHt82OwG 5ZFO7B53 97zmjOPu A4KZuhYV uQpoJR4D 0eKyOiUr Rz96smeO 3HTABu3N 6W0VmEls uPsp5zpw 8UD3VkMG YTct6Rd4 VKo0cVmq E07ZX7j9 kQSlvA69 Nm3fpv3i xWvF2xMu yEfcw8uA oQGVX3l9 grTzx7Xj s4GVEYtM uJl5sYMe n3icRPiY ED3Mup4B k3M9KHI7 IkxqoSM0 dt2cxmMU yb2tUkut 2Q9wGZQx 8Rpo11s9 I13siOHu 7GV64Fjv 3VONzD8i SCDfVD3F oiPTx239 6BQakoiJ XUEokiC4 ybL7VGmL el2RfvWk zKc7CLcE 3FqNBSyA NjDWrvZ5 KI3NSX4h VFyo6VPr h4q3XeqZ FDYMoX6f uTU5ZzU3 6u4ob4Ep wiYPt05n CZga66qh upzH6Z9y RuVcqbe8 taQv11hq 1xsY67a8 EVo9GLXA FCaDLGb1 bZyh0YN8 0nTKo0Qy RRVUwn9t DuU8mwwv x96LWpCb tFLz3fBG dNb4gCKf n6VYcOiH 1ep6QYFZ x8kaJtrY 56PDWuW6 1R0If4kV 2XK0NLQK 4XQqhycl Ip08cn6c Bnx9z2Bz 7gjGlON7 CJxLR1U4 mqMwir3j ovGXWu0z MfDjk5m8 4KwM9SAN oz0fZ5eo 5m8iRtco oP5BpLh0 Z5kvwr1W f34O2O43 hXao1Sp8 tKoG5VNI f13fuYvm BQQn8MD3 bmFSf6Mf Z4Y0o17U jT4wO1DG cz2clBES Lr4B3qIY ArKQRND6 8xnh4oIs nayiK2zG yWvQCV3v AFPlHSB8 zfx5bnaL t5lFbenk F2dIeBr4 C6RqDQMy gKt28c9O ZCi0tQKE 0Ekdjh3P ox2vWOMI 14XF4gwc nYA0L6tV rRN3lekn lmwZNjz1 4ovmJAr7 shPl9o5f FFsuNwj0 F2eVkqGi 7gw277RZ nYE7gCLl JDn05S5N
If you would like to generate a strong five passwords with 14 characters length, use the following format.
$ pwgen -s 14 5 7YxUwDyfxGVTYD em2NT6FceXjPfT u8jlrljbrclcTi IruIX3Xu0TFXRr X8M9cB6wKNot1e
If you really want to generate a super strong random twenty passwords, use the following format.
$ pwgen -cnys 14 20 mQ3E=vfGfZ,5[B #zmj{i5|ZS){jg Ht_8i7OqJ%N`~2 443fa5iJ\W-L?] ?Qs$o=vz2vgQBR ^'Ry0Az|J9p2+0 t2oA/n7U_'|QRx EsX*%_(4./QCRJ ACr-,8yF9&eM[* !Xz1C'bw?tv50o 8hfv-fK(VxwQGS q!qj?sD7Xmkb7^ N#Zp\_Y2kr%!)~ 4*pwYs{bq]Hh&Y |4u=-Q1!jS~8=; ]{$N#FPX1L2B{h I|01fcK.z?QTz" l~]JD_,W%5bp.E +i2=D3;BQ}p+$I n.a3,.D3VQ3~&i
How to generate Random & Strong password in Linux using openssl Command?
The openssl program is a command line tool for using the various cryptography functions of OpenSSL’s crypto library from the shell.
Run the openssl command with the following format to generate a random strong password with 14 characters.
$ openssl rand -base64 14 WjzyDqdkWf3e53tJw/c=
If you would like to generate ten random strong password with 14 characters using openssl command then use the following for loop.
$ for pw in {1..10}; do openssl rand -base64 14; done 6i0hgHDBi3ohZ9Mil8I= gtn+y1bVFJFanpJqWaA= rYu+wy+0nwLf5lk7TBA= xrdNGykIzxaKDiLF2Bw= cltejRkDPdFPC/zI0Pg= G6aroK6d4xVVYFTrZGs= jJEnFoOk1+UTSx/wJrY= TFxVjBmLx9aivXB3yxE= oQtOLPwTuO8df7dIv9I= ktpBpCSQFOD+5kIIe7Y=
How to generate Random & Strong password in Linux using gpg Command?
gpg is the OpenPGP part of the GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG). It is a tool to provide digital encryption and signing services using the OpenPGP standard. gpg features complete key management and all the bells and whistles you would expect from a full OpenPGP implementation.
Run the gpg command with the following format to generate a random strong password with 14 characters.
$ gpg --gen-random --armor 1 14 or $ gpg2 --gen-random --armor 1 14 jq1mtY4gBa6gIuJrggM=
If you would like to generate ten random strong password with 14 characters using gpg command then use the following for loop.
$ for pw in {1..10}; do gpg --gen-random --armor 1 14; done or $ for pw in {1..10}; do gpg2 --gen-random --armor 1 14; done F5ZzLSUMet2kefG6Ssc= 8hh7BFNs8Qu0cnrvHrY= B+PEt28CosR5xO05/sQ= m21bfx6UG1cBDzVGKcE= wALosRXnBgmOC6+++xU= TGpjT5xRxo/zFq/lNeg= ggsKxVgpB/3aSOY15W4= iUlezWxL626CPc9omTI= pYb7xQwI1NTlM2rxaCg= eJjhtA6oHhBrUpLY4fM=
How to generate Random & Strong password in Linux using mkpasswd Command?
mkpasswd generates passwords and can apply them automatically to users. With no arguments, mkpasswd returns a new password. It’s part of an expect package so, you have to install expect package to use mkpasswd command.
For Fedora system, use DNF Command to install mkpasswd.
$ sudo dnf install expect
For Debian/Ubuntu systems, use APT-GET Command or APT Command to install mkpasswd.
$ sudo apt install expect
For Arch Linux based systems, use Pacman Command to install mkpasswd.
$ sudo pacman -S expect
For RHEL/CentOS systems, use YUM Command to install mkpasswd.
$ sudo yum install expect
For openSUSE Leap system, use Zypper Command to install mkpasswd.
$ sudo zypper install expect
Run the mkpasswd command in terminal to generate a random password.
$ mkpasswd 37_slQepD
Run the mkpasswd command with the following format to generate a random strong password with 14 characters.
$ mkpasswd -l 14 W1qP1uv=lhghgh
Run the mkpasswd command with the following format to generate a random strong password with 14 characters. It combinations of alphabetic (Lower & Upper case), Numeric number and special characters.
$ mkpasswd -l 14 -d 3 -C 3 -s 3 3aad!bMWG49"t,
If you would like to generate ten random strong password with 14 characters (It combination of alphabetic (Lower & Upper case), Numeric number and special characters) using mkpasswd command then use the following for loop.
$ for pw in {1..10}; do mkpasswd -l 14 -d 3 -C 3 -s 3; done zmSwP[q9;P1r6[ E42zcvzM"i3%B\ 8}1#Pbh5FjrO@m 0X:zB(mmU22?nj 0sqqL44M}ko(O^ 43tQ(.6jG;ceRq -jB6cp3x1GZ$e= $of?Rj9kb2N(1J 9HCf,nn#gjO79^ Tu9m56+Ev_Yso(
How to generate Random & Strong password in Linux using makepasswd Command?
makepasswd generates true random passwords using /dev/urandom, with the emphasis on security over pronounceability. It can also encrypt plaintext passwords given on the command line.
Run the makepasswd command in terminal to generate a random password.
$ makepasswd HdCJafVaN
Run the makepasswd command with the following format to generate a random strong password with 14 characters.
$ makepasswd --chars 14 HxJDv5quavrqmU
Run the makepasswd command with the following format to generate ten random strong password with 14 characters.
$ makepasswd --chars 14 --count 10 TqmKVWnRGeoVNr mPV2P98hLRUsai MhMXPwyzYi2RLo dxMGgLmoFpYivi 8p0G7JvJjd6qUP 7SmX95MiJcQauV KWzrh5npAjvNmL oHPKdq1uA9tU85 V1su9GjU2oIGiQ M2TMCEoahzLNYC
How to generate Random & Strong password in Linux using Multiple Commands?
Still if you are looking other options then you can use the following utilities to generate a random password in Linux.
Using md5sum: md5sum is a computer program that calculates and verifies 128-bit MD5 hashes.
$ date | md5sum 9baf96fb6e8cbd99601d97a5c3acc2c4 -
Using /dev/urandom: The character special files /dev/random and /dev/urandom (present since Linux 1.3.30) provide an interface to the kernel’s random number generator. File /dev/random has major device number 1 and minor device number 8. File /dev/urandom has major device number 1 and minor device number 9.
$ cat /dev/urandom | tr -dc 'a-zA-Z0-9' | head -c 14 15LQB9J84Btnzz
Using sha256sum: The program sha256sum is designed to verify data integrity using the SHA-256 (SHA-2 family with a digest length of 256 bits).
$ date | sha256sum a114ae5c458ae0d366e1b673d558d921bb937e568d9329b525cf32290478826a -
Using sha1pass: sha1pass creates a SHA1 password hash. In the absence of a salt value on the command line, a random salt vector will be generated.
$ sha1pass $4$9+JvykOv$e7U0jMJL2yBOL+RVa2Eke8SETEo$
