update README with some background information

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Alexandre Dulaunoy 2010-06-06 19:49:25 +02:00
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paper token
===========
paper token is a PDF generator to create paper-based OTP token.
paper token is a PDF generator to create paper-based OTP (RFC 4226) token.
why?
----
Hardware tokens are very costly and often require a proprietary infrastructure.
(near impossible to find HOTP-compatible hardware token without
requiring the linked proprietary infrastructure)
Software tokens can be also painful and always require a second device like
a phone to operate properly.
security?
---------
Paper is not less secure than an phone running a software token. With
a sheet paper and a pencil, you have the control of the token. Do you
have the control of your phone and the software running on it?
For a negligible cost, you have a token and you just need to protect
that sheet of paper.
An OTP is just an one-time password and this recommendation makes a
lot of sense for the paper-based token too :
``Simply, people can no longer remember passwords good enough to reliably defend against dictionary attacks, and are much more secure if they choose a password too complicated to remember and then write it down. We're all good at securing small pieces of paper. I recommend that people write their passwords down on a small piece of paper, and keep it with their other valuable small pieces of paper: in their wallet.
—Bruce Schneier 2005``
perl requirements
-----------------
@ -16,10 +42,20 @@ how to use it
perl paper-token.pl --output test.pdf --counter 0 --end 200 --secret 3132333435363738393031323334353637383930 --digits 6
sample token (PDF)
==================
* [Sample token using test vector from RFC 4226](http://github.com/adulau/paper-token/raw/master/examples/test.pdf)
OpenOTP server installation
===========================
You have various free software solution to run
on the server side for the authentication of the
tokens. You can have a look at the setting up
of an OpenOTP server to work with those paper-based
token.
* For more information - http://www.foo.be/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/SettingOOTP
* [For more information](http://www.foo.be/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/SettingOOTP)
LICENSE
=======