Patent ID: 8286000

Claim:
A method implemented in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and for execution on a machine, comprising: receiving, by the machine, a password from a user that is being proposed by the user as a new password for the user to use to access a secure resource or set of resources; parsing, by the machine, the password to acquire terms included in the password; querying, by the machine, a password database with the terms using a structured query language (SQL) to process the query; denying, by the machine, the password when the terms are located within the password database and when a frequency of use for each term identified within the password database exceeds a threshold value; and housing in the password database with other information for that term including specific identifiers for each specific user that includes that term in that specific user's password, an active frequency count reflecting active passwords that include that term, an inactive frequency count reflecting prior passwords that used that term but are no longer actively being used, and group identifiers for specific groups that include that term in that specific group's password.