[colug-432] Random Generator

[tom]

I decided to change my Ebay password. After reading the timely password 
survey discussion, and other sources I decided to use a lengthy random 
password.

dd if=/dev/random bs=1 count=48 2>/dev/null | base64 -w 0 | rev | cut -b 
2- | rev
jdLtcA0QawkgrYWDWkMEhAy9JCPX0hCwU/H0emcTew7QuTowMLax1tzKiqsFWhh


I wanted to see if that length exceeded ebay's limit. No I am not going 
to use that password. While writing it down I noticed elements that 
could qualify as dictionary words: awk, ME, JCP, emc, Tow, Lax.

I then went for a shorter password. It appears to be more random:

  dd if=/dev/random bs=1 count=32 2>/dev/null | base64 -w 0 | rev | cut 
-b 2- | rev
nEh2cXZ+qb648Im9GbOh4i3Ls88TNKcKPraq4vp4TkY

Looks like the first command line is running out of resources in my 
laptop. It was last booted 10 days ago. Dell Inspiron 1520. Pentium 
DualCore 64 bit. @ GB RAM.

Is there a better command line to produce a random password? Anything I 
can do with my laptop to produce more randomness, like increase the 
number of processes running?

Tom