This is hardly more secure than storing a plaintext password in the file. If you're just using a module to clutter/obfuscate the password text, then anyone who has your module source can de-clutter/de-obfuscate the password and have the password in their hand. My suggestion: simply store a crypt()ed password in the script instead of taking the approach you've posted. Granted, this method can be worked around via brute-force methods, but if you choose your passwords carefully, this will improve the situation.

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