spass

spass is a simple passphrase generator that chooses random words from a dictionary. It was inspired by an XKCD strip which reminds us that hard-to-remember passwords are not necessarily hard for a computer to guess.

Prerequisites

spass assumes you have a dictionary file to use as its source of words. By default, /usr/share/dict/words is used, but you can pass your own dictionary using the -f/--file option.

Installation

spass is distributed as a gem, so just do:

$ gem install spass

Usage

When run without arguments, spass generates 10 passphrases, each 4 words long, using words up to 8 characters long. You can configure this behavior by passing command-line arguments; run spass -h to see full usage notes.

Examples:

$ spass -w 3            # Generate 3-word phrases
$ spass -w 5 -n 20      # Generate twenty 5-word phrases
$ spass -c 6            # Limit words to 6 characters
$ spass -d              # Append a digit to each word
$ spass -f mywords.txt  # Get words from mywords.txt (one per line)

Disclaimer

spass makes absolutely no guarantee that its output results in secure passwords. If you use spass to protect your bank account or your porn collection, I cannot be held responsible if you lose your money or marriage. Check your password strength before using it for anything important. Passwords generated with spass are inherently vulnerable to a dictionary attack; the only thing that can make them resistant to such attacks is their length, so always use at least three (preferably more) words.

Future plans

Optional inclusion of uppercase and symbols
Avoid possible word repetition

MIT License

spass is licensed under the MIT License.

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.