Question

A version of Microsoft LAN manager software supports passwords of length 14, using 67 characters (e.g., upper and lower case letters, digits, and punctuations). For brevity suppose that all passwords are required to be 14 characters long.

a. Determine the number of possible passwords that can be generated.

b. Except that the software has a flaw: The software stores a password as 2 separate strings of length 7, i.e., the password the user types is read and compared as 2 separate strings. Why is this a flaw? Explain quantitatively.

Answer 1