HP 3000 Manuals

HP Security Monitor/iX User's Guide

Mandatory Password Prompts 

MPE/iX allows embedded passwords in logon commands.  Embedded passwords
are displayed on the screen when a user logs on, and can be read by any
one with a clear view of the screen.  To eliminate this possibility, an
HP Security Monitor facility called Mandatory Password Prompt prevents
the use of embedded passwords, and prompts for passwords instead.  A
prompted password is not displayed on the screen when it is entered.

Discussion 

Without the Mandatory Password Prompt feature in effect, MPE/iX users can
log on to the system by embedding passwords within a logon command.  For
example, the account password PASSWORD is embedded in the following logon
command and clearly displayed on the screen.

     :HELLO JOE.SMITH/PASSWORD

With the Mandatory Password Prompt feature in effect, this is not
allowed.  Instead, a user enters a logon command without a password, then
enters the password in answer to a prompt.  The password is not
displayed.

If a user tries to enter embedded passwords with Mandatory Password
Prompt active, the system ignores the embedded passwords, refuses to
allow the user to logon, and displays the following message:

     PASSWORD PROMPTS ARE REQUIRED, EMBEDDED PASSWORDS ARE NOT
     ALLOWED. (CIERR 1449)


NOTE  If you have attempted to log on with an embedded password and
      gotten an error message, be careful to clear the screen so that
      your password will not be discovered.

MPE/iX 5.0 Documentation