Introduction
In this tutorial we learn how to install apg on Ubuntu 22.04.
What is apg
apg is:
APG (Automated Password Generator) is the tool set for random
password generation. It generates some random words of required type
and prints them to standard output. This binary package contains only
the standalone version of apg.
Advantages:
- Built-in ANSI X9.17 RNG (Random Number Generator)(CAST/SHA1)
- Built-in password quality checking system (now it has support for Bloom
filter for faster access) - Two Password Generation Algorithms:
- Pronounceable Password Generation Algorithm (according to NIST
FIPS 181) - Random Character Password Generation Algorithm with 35
configurable modes of operation
- Pronounceable Password Generation Algorithm (according to NIST
- Configurable password length parameters
- Configurable amount of generated passwords
- Ability to initialize RNG with user string
- Support for /dev/random
- Ability to crypt() generated passwords and print them as additional output.
- Special parameters to use APG in script
- Ability to log password generation requests for network version
- Ability to control APG service access using tcpd
- Ability to use password generation service from any type of box (Mac,
WinXX, etc.) that connected to network - Ability to enforce remote users to use only allowed type of password
generation
The client/server version of apg has been deliberately omitted.
Please note that there are security flaws in pronounceable
password generation schemes (see Ganesan / Davis “A New Attack on
Random Pronounceable Password Generatorsâ€, in “Proceedings of the 17th
National Computer Security Conference (NCSC), Oct. 11-14, 1994
(Volume 1)â€, http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/history/nissc/
1994-17th-NCSC-proceedings-vol-1.pdf, pages 203-216)
Also note that the FIPS 181 standard from 1993 has been withdrawn by NIST in
2015 with no superseding publication. This means that the document is
considered by its publicher as obsolete and not been updated to reference
current or revised voluntary industry standards, federal specifications, or
federal data standards.
apg has not seen upstream attention since 2003, upstream is not
answering e-mail, and the upstream web page does not look like it is
in good working order. The Debian maintainer plans to discontinue apg
maintenance as soon as an actually maintained software with a
compariable feature set becomes available.
There are three methods to install apg on Ubuntu 22.04. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.
Install apg Using apt-get
Update apt database with apt-get using the following command.
sudo apt-get update
After updating apt database, We can install apg using apt-get by running the following command:
sudo apt-get -y install apg
Install apg Using apt
Update apt database with apt using the following command.
sudo apt update
After updating apt database, We can install apg using apt by running the following command:
sudo apt -y install apg
Install apg Using aptitude
If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Ubuntu. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.
sudo aptitude update
After updating apt database, We can install apg using aptitude by running the following command:
sudo aptitude -y install apg
How To Uninstall apg on Ubuntu 22.04
To uninstall only the apg package we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get remove apg
Uninstall apg And Its Dependencies
To uninstall apg and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Ubuntu 22.04, we can use the command below:
sudo apt-get -y autoremove apg
Remove apg Configurations and Data
To remove apg configuration and data from Ubuntu 22.04 we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get -y purge apg
Remove apg configuration, data, and all of its dependencies
We can use the following command to remove apg configurations, data and all of its dependencies, we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge apg
References
Summary
In this tutorial we learn how to install apg package on Ubuntu 22.04 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.
