After way too much time, I have finally released pam_usb 0.4.0.

For those of you not familiar with the project, it "provides hardware authentication for Linux using ordinary USB Flash Drives".Basically, it makes applications such as GDM/KDM, gnome-screensaver/kscreensaver, su/sudo and so forth authenticate users using a USB stick instead of askingfor a password over and over. If you're lazy like me, you'll appreciate it.

So, what's new with this release ? Well, everything. For starters, I've rewritten everything from scratch. It contains many new features,including one time pads authentication and support for hardware detection throughHAL.

I've also written a set of tools in Python:

  • pamusb-agent, a daemon that can trigger actions (such as locking the screen) upon device authentication and removal.
  • pamusb-conf, a tool that can save you the hassle of editing pamusb.conf by hand. As for now, it supports the --add-device and --add-user options.

The project has now a brand new website powered by the Dokuwiki wiki engine.I have also reworked the documentation as the old one seemed to scare people. Someday I'll probably do a screencast to show how to setup pam_usb in 5 minutes. Until then, have fun with the documentation :)