Being able to specify a "super-secret-master-password" on the argument vector of the program when invoking it is a Really Bad Idea, since, at least for a brief

Being able to specify a "super-secret-master-password" on the argument vector of the program when invoking it is a Really Bad Idea, since, at least for a brief window of time, all logged-in users on a UNIX-ish box will be able to see it in the clear in the process table...