diff --git a/notebook/auth/__main__.py b/notebook/auth/__main__.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..023983975
--- /dev/null
+++ b/notebook/auth/__main__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+from notebook.auth import passwd
+from getpass import getpass
+from traitlets.config.manager import BaseJSONConfigManager
+from jupyter_core.paths import jupyter_config_dir
+import argparse
+import sys
+
+def set_password(args):
+	password = args.password
+	while not password  :
+		password1 = getpass("" if args.quiet else "Provide password: ")
+		password_repeat = getpass("" if args.quiet else "Repeat password:  ")
+		if password1 != password_repeat:
+			print("Passwords do not match, try again")
+		elif len(password1) < 4:
+			print("Please provide at least 4 characters")
+		else:
+			password = password1
+
+	password_hash = passwd(password)
+	cfg = BaseJSONConfigManager(config_dir=jupyter_config_dir())
+	cfg.update('jupyter_notebook_config', {
+		'NotebookApp': {
+			'password': password_hash,
+		}
+	})
+	if not args.quiet:
+		print("password stored in config dir: %s" % jupyter_config_dir())
+
+def main(argv):
+	parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(argv[0])
+	subparsers = parser.add_subparsers()
+	parser_password = subparsers.add_parser('password', help='sets a password for your notebook server')
+	parser_password.add_argument("password", help="password to set, if not given, a password will be queried for (NOTE: this may not be safe)",
+			nargs="?")
+	parser_password.add_argument("--quiet", help="suppress messages", action="store_true")
+	parser_password.set_defaults(function=set_password)
+	args = parser.parse_args(argv[1:])
+	args.function(args)
+	
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+	main(sys.argv)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/notebook/notebookapp.py b/notebook/notebookapp.py
index 4f112d500..48deca9fc 100644
--- a/notebook/notebookapp.py
+++ b/notebook/notebookapp.py
@@ -58,6 +58,15 @@ from notebook import (
     DEFAULT_TEMPLATE_PATH_LIST,
     __version__,
 )
+from .auth import passwd
+from getpass import getpass
+
+# py23 compatibility
+try:
+    raw_input = raw_input
+except NameError:
+    raw_input = input
+
 from .base.handlers import Template404
 from .log import log_request
 from .services.kernels.kernelmanager import MappingKernelManager
@@ -570,6 +579,17 @@ class NotebookApp(JupyterApp):
                       """
     )
 
+    password_required = Bool(False, config=True,
+                      help="""Forces users to use a password for the Notebook server.
+                      This is useful in a multi user environment, for instance when
+                      everybody in the LAN can access each other's machine though ssh.
+
+                      In such a case, server the notebook server on localhost is not secure
+                      since any user can connect to the notebook server via ssh.
+
+                      """
+    )
+
     open_browser = Bool(True, config=True,
                         help="""Whether to open in a browser after starting.
                         The specific browser used is platform dependent and
@@ -917,7 +937,13 @@ class NotebookApp(JupyterApp):
         # ensure default_url starts with base_url
         if not self.default_url.startswith(self.base_url):
             self.default_url = url_path_join(self.base_url, self.default_url)
-        
+
+        if self.password_required and (not self.password):
+            self.log.critical("Notebook servers are configured to only be run with a password.")
+            self.log.critical("Hint: run the following command to set a password")
+            self.log.critical("\t$ python -m notebook.auth password")
+            sys.exit(1)
+
         self.web_app = NotebookWebApplication(
             self, self.kernel_manager, self.contents_manager,
             self.session_manager, self.kernel_spec_manager,
diff --git a/notebook/tests/test_notebookapp.py b/notebook/tests/test_notebookapp.py
index 270ec1b0f..afb6d921a 100644
--- a/notebook/tests/test_notebookapp.py
+++ b/notebook/tests/test_notebookapp.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from jupyter_core.application import NoStart
 from ipython_genutils.tempdir import TemporaryDirectory
 from traitlets import TraitError
 from notebook import notebookapp, __version__
+from notebook import notebookapp
 NotebookApp = notebookapp.NotebookApp
 
 
@@ -81,7 +82,6 @@ def test_generate_config():
             app.start()
         assert os.path.exists(os.path.join(td, 'jupyter_notebook_config.py'))
 
-
 #test if the version testin function works
 def test_pep440_version():