no suse problem at all. the crypt function uses only 8 characters, if you need more, you will have to use a different encryption method than crypt - like md5 passwords. have a look at /usr/share/doc/packages/pam/md5.config /usr/share/doc/packages/pam/README.md5 or the archive of the suse security list: http://lists.suse.com/archive/suse-security/2000-May/0073.html michael