Scribd
Upload
37 views2 pages

Password

A password is secret data used to confirm a user's identity when accessing password-protected services. Traditionally passwords were expected to be memorized but due to the large number of services people use, memorizing unique passwords for each is impractical. Passwords are arbitrary strings of characters that verify a claimant's identity to a verifier through an authentication protocol.

Uploaded by

ethenmok
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
37 views2 pages

Password

A password is secret data used to confirm a user's identity when accessing password-protected services. Traditionally passwords were expected to be memorized but due to the large number of services people use, memorizing unique passwords for each is impractical. Passwords are arbitrary strings of characters that verify a claimant's identity to a verifier through an authentication protocol.

Uploaded by

ethenmok
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Password

72 languages
• Article
• Talk
• Read
• Edit
• View history
Tools

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

•
•
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Password (disambiguation).
"Passcode" redirects here. For the Japanese idol group, see Passcode (group).
For assistance with your Wikipedia password, see Help:Reset password.

A password field in a sign in form


A password, sometimes called a passcode, is secret data, typically a string of characters,
usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be
memorized,[1] but the large number of password-protected services that a typical individual
accesses can make memorization of unique passwords for each service
impractical.[2] Using the terminology of the NIST Digital Identity Guidelines,[3] the secret is
held by a party called the claimant while the party verifying the identity of the claimant is
called the verifier. When the claimant successfully demonstrates knowledge of the
password to the verifier through an established authentication protocol,[4] the verifier is able
to infer the claimant's identity.
In general, a password is an arbitrary string of characters including letters, digits, or other
symbols. If the permissible characters are constrained to be numeric, the corresponding
secret is sometimes called a personal identification number (PIN).
Despite its name, a password does not need to be an actual word; indeed, a non-word (in
the dictionary sense) may be harder to guess, which is a desirable property of passwords.
A memorized secret consisting of a sequence of words or other text separated by spaces
is sometimes called a passphrase. A passphrase is similar to a password in usage, but the
former is generally longer for added security.[5]

You might also like