# Words for random password generators **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 18, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-for-random-password-generators/489930 "2009-03-18T19:11:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-for-random-password-generators/489930/1 "2009-03-18T19:11:26Z")
An on-line site I use involves daily passwords to gain access. Does anyone know how they come up with such lists of words? They all seem to be 7 or 8 letters long. It seems as tho an unusually high percentage of them have - um - somewhat negative connotations. At least moreso than I would expect of the English language as a whole. And many of the others just seem somewhat - um - odd. Here, in no particular order, is one week’s worth of words: disclaim anathema despoil crabbed bizarre vagrant dispatch Are these generated by a computer program? Do they impress anyone else as a little odd? Perhaps the only reason they strike me as “odd” is that it is pretty unusual to see so many words of that length together. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-for-random-password-generators/489930/2 "2009-03-18T19:20:03Z")
```auto perl -nle 'print if (length == 7) or (length == 8)' < /usr/share/dict/words ``` A random sample: boobery crawfish daylight embolus flaxtail gradient heptarch In other words, it’s a pretty simple matter to just grab 7 and 8-letter words from the dictionary file. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-for-random-password-generators/489930/3 "2009-03-18T19:25:38Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > A random sample: > boobery > crawfish > daylight > embolus > flaxtail > gradient > heptarch > > In other words, it’s a pretty simple matter to just grab 7 and 8-letter words from the dictionary file. But then you’d have to at least somehow “radomize” the resulting alphabetical list, no? And my non-scientific impression is that the list I’m given seems to be short on the crawfish/daylight end of the vocabulary and overloaded with booberies and emboli … ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-for-random-password-generators/489930/4 "2009-03-18T19:34:15Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > But then you’d have to at least somehow “radomize” the resulting alphabetical list, no? Well, sure. But randomizing a list is hardly a challenging feat for anyone with basic programming sk1llz. Perl even comes with an efficient shuffle algorithm for that purpose. And there could certainly be some human filtering of the list after it’s generated, if the human in question only wants to choose “interesting” words. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-for-random-password-generators/489930/5 "2009-03-18T19:52:33Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > They all seem to be 7 or 8 letters long. This is because the shorter the password, the easier it is to crack. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-for-random-password-generators/489930/6 "2009-03-18T20:24:34Z")
My old employer used to use a four letter word coupled with a three letter word, apparently because it would not be too long to be hard to remember, but would be harder to crack than the finite universe of 7 or 8 letter words. My assigned password? No lie: Moanbag ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-for-random-password-generators/489930/7 "2009-03-18T20:36:01Z")
> [@Jodi](#): > > Moanbag You do realize that from now on I’m never going to be able to read another of your posts without thinking of that! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-for-random-password-generators/489930/8 "2009-03-18T20:40:16Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > You do realize that from now on I’m never going to be able to read another of your posts without thinking of that! 😛 Dammit! Actually, I thought it was pretty funny myself. Not funny enough to _keep_ it, but funny. Ish. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-for-random-password-generators/489930/9 "2009-03-19T13:19:08Z")
I found a list from last month. Here - in order - is just over one week’s worth of passwords: putrefy hideous egotism skeptic compost maniacal petulant decimate Someone realy seems to be trying to set the mood for using this work-related application! :rolleyes: Notably absent are the likes of cerulean, gorilla, racecar, begonia …