What Is PAM Authentication?
Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) is an authentication scheme that was first developed by Sun. It is used by applications primarily in the Linux operating system to validate passwords. Applications access PAM by calling on the service.
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Configuration Files
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PAM uses text configuration files to determine which action to take for an application's security. These files are changeable and can accept new rules when the administrator defines them in the file.
Time Function
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In addition to validating passwords, PAM is also used for tasks such as determining the time of day a user can log into an application. The PAM module that controls this function is pam_time.so. It is located in the /lib/security directory.
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Extensibility
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PAM authentication is extensible -- new functions can be created as they come into existence. For example, if computers can one day scan your brain waves, it will be possible to create a PAM module that handles brain wave authentication.
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