Munge

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To Munge (munj) is to create a strong password by character substitution.

This usage differs significantly from Mung (Mash Until No Good), because Munging implies destruction of data, while Mungeing implies creation of strong protection for data.

Passwords are used to gain access to computer resources. Computer users generally choose passwords that are weak and easy to remember. Simple passwords are easily hacked by dictionary attacking software.

If a network administrator supplies a password that is too difficult to remember, or requires that passwords be changed frequently; users tend to write their password down to help them remember it. Many times passwords can be found on sticky notes under keyboards, behind pictures, or hidden among other desktop items.

Mungeing is one solution to make a strong password that the user can remember. The word "Munge" is an acronym for Modify Until Not Guessed Easily.

Let the user choose any word they like, and modify it to make it strong.

A strong password contains characters from at least 3 of these 4 character sets:

   Lower case: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
   Upper case: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
   Numbers: 01234567890
   Special: !@#$%^&*()-=_+<>?

Adding a number and/or special character effectively thwarts dictionary attacks.

For example, the word "butterfly" could be munged as:

   8uttErfly   < The b becomes an eight (B8), and any other letter can be capitalized
   butt3rfl?   < The e becomes a three (E3), and the Y becomes a question mark(Y = Why?)
   bu2Terfly   < The two t's become 2T
   8u2T3RfL?   < a combination of all the above

The substitutions can be anything you find easy to remember, such as: