OTPWCalc
User Commands
OTPWCalc(1)
Name
OTPWCalc - Client application for calculating responses to OTP challenges.
Synopsis
OTPWCalc [-h] [-v] [-V]
Description
Playing the role of a hardware
token in a client server authentication system as described
in RFC 2289, OTPWCalc calculates responses to incoming
authentication challenges as typed in by the user.
Options
-h Display a brief help message and exit.
-v Print verbose text to the calling terminal.
-V Print the version number and exit.
Terms
Username
The name that the server knows. For example, 'albertc'.
Secret
A password, usually selected by the user, that is
needed to gain access to the server. For example,
'Mysec2-pw'.
Challenge
Information printed by the server when it tries to
authenticate a user. This information is needed by
OTPWCalc to generate a proper response. For example,
'otp-md5 820 dinw23612'.
Response
Information generated from a challenge that is used
by the server to authenticate the user. For example,
'BIEM ROSE JINX HARD BALL SKY NEW'.
Seed
Information used in conjunction with the secret and
sequence number to compute the response. It allows
the same secret to be used for multiple sequences
by changing the seed, or for authentication to
multiple servers by using different seeds.
Sequence #
A counter used to track key iterations. Each time
a successful response is received by the server the
sequence number is decremented. For example, 71.
Hash ID
Text that identifies the cryptographical algorithm
used. The valid hash identifiers are 'otpmd4'
corresponding to MD4, and 'otp-md5' corresponding
to MD5.
Files
The application may store a cookie in a file used to
restore the most recent settings. The location of this
file (or arbitrary data structure) varies according to
the operating system.
Bugs
This manual.
Security
All of the authentication strategies covered in the
standards implemented by this application are vulnerable
to man in the middle (MITM) attacks. The strategies can
be combined with public key logic to defeat such attacks.
Standards
The IETF standards RFC 1760 (The S/KEY One-Time Password
System) and RFC 2289 (A One-Time Password System) are
implemented.
See also
None. This is a self contained, stand alone application with
no alias commands. It is unique in that it leverages open
technologies like Javascript to run unmodified on a variety
of operating systems.
Author
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