2 replies
by cjmpe
The password engine for WinNT does not have the ability to process mathematical computations as part of its verification process. When a password is originally created in NT, an algorithm takes the users password, eg. Microsoft, and stores it as a hash, eg. Monopoly -:). When you enter your password at logon, the system runs an operation that creates a hash of the password entered in the login window and compares it to the hash stored on the system - if they match, all is good and you are allowed access to the machine. That's not to say that your choice of a password isn't an excellent idea, after all the best passwords are those made up of what appear to be "random characters" that have some meaning to yourself (so that you can actuallyremember the password and don't have to write it down somewhere), but anyone else would have a hard time guessing, or remembering if they are looking over your shoulder.
As an aside, if you are that concerned about security that you feel a long password might help, I can tell you that there several programs available off the web (both for purchase and for free download) to either crack or change the passwords on NT boxes and all that they require is the person doing the hacking to insert a floppy disk into the drive and boot to it. If you want real security, you should be looking at an add on program to encrypt all of your data, with a separate password to allow data access.
by epepke
Just strings. They are not parsed, let alone evaluated.
I remember a Tech Q about why, when you inserted '3 + 2' into an Oracle table, it didn't automatically come back '5'.
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