Unit Quickpw

****************************************************************** AISQuickPassword - Backdoor Password generating Component for Delphi Created on : September 25, 1996 Created by : Dennis P. Butler Purpose : The purpose of this component is to allow a programmer to use password security in a project, but not be restricted by having to come up with a scheme to handle forgotten passwords. This component allows the programmer to make his projects generate temporary passwords for the users of the project. Description : A perpetual problem with passwords is that users often forget their password, leading to many adminsitrative problems. These problems are especially severe if an application is using local tables and being run on a laptop, where an administrator may not easily be able to help the user if they are not at the same location. This component allows the administrator to generate a temporary password based on the login criteria of the user. This password can be good for the entire day or the specific hour, based on the use in the program. The component also allows passwords to be generated for users in a different time zone. For example, if a user in a different time zone than the administrator calls up wanting a backdoor password for themselves, especially if the hourly password option is chosen, then the hour offset in the TimeZoneHours field can accomodate this and produce a correct password for the users machine. Using the Component : Use of this component assumes that there are at least two types of people who will be using the system, ordinary users and administrators. Only administrators have the ability to generate backdoor passwords for users. In a typical application, there is a login screen to enter the system. Using the AISQuickPassword component, the application would fill in the information for the UserName property based on the login, the Sortmethod property, and the LengthPassword property. The programmer would include in the login screen a call to validatepassword with the password entered as a parameter. If the password entered is the temporary password, the program can allow them to enter the system or take whatever steps is then appropriate for the application. On the administrator end, they would have access to a form where only they would be able to make calls to the createmethod method. Key Properties : UserName (string) - This is the string criteria unique to each user. It can be a user name, user id, etc., but generally should be the same string that is used to log into the system, so that the strings will be the same on the user and administrator machines. SortMethod (stDateOnly, stDateHour) - Defines whether the password generated will be valid for an entire day or the current hour. LengthPassword (integer) - Length of the resulting password. TimeZoneHours (integer) - Number of hours away from the administrator that the user is at. Default is zero. For time zones with an earlier time than the administrator, use a negative number. ** Note that the first three properties must be identical on the user and administrative programs ** Methods : CreatePassword - Based on the UserName, SortMethod, & PasswordLength, a unique password is returned. ValidatePassword - Based on the password passed to the function, a boolean value of True or False will be returned on whether the password is correct for the UserName, SortMethod, & PasswordLength. Any feedback, comments, etc. are welcome. Please reply to dbutler@apogeeis.com Copyright 1996 Apogee Information Systems

Classes

TAISQuickPW -

Functions

Register - Published declarations

Types

TSortType

Constants

Variables


Functions


procedure Register;

Published declarations

Types


TSortType = (stDateOnly,stDateHour);
stDateOnly - Password is comprised of date only - good for entire day stDateHour - Password is comprised of date & hour - good for current hour only

Constants


Variables