diff --git a/docsite/rst/faq.rst b/docsite/rst/faq.rst
index 2634195a87..1cdabd9148 100644
--- a/docsite/rst/faq.rst
+++ b/docsite/rst/faq.rst
@@ -215,9 +215,19 @@ Ansible 1.4 will also make remote environment variables available via facts in t
 How do I generate crypted passwords for the user module?
 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
-Crypted password values can be generated as follows::
+The mkpasswd utility that is available on most Linux systems is a great option::
 
-    openssl passwd -salt <salt> -1 <plaintext>
+    mkpasswd --method=SHA-512
+
+If this utility is not installed on your system (e.g. you are using OS X) then you can still easily
+generate these passwords using Python. First, ensure that the `Passlib <https://code.google.com/p/passlib/>`_
+password hashing library is installed.
+
+    pip install passlib
+
+Once the library is ready, SHA512 password values can then be generated as follows::
+
+    python -c "from passlib.hash import sha512_crypt; print sha512_crypt.encrypt('<password>')"
 
 .. _commercial_support:
 
diff --git a/library/system/user b/library/system/user
index 48bcf75171..aa32393bd9 100644
--- a/library/system/user
+++ b/library/system/user
@@ -77,8 +77,8 @@ options:
         description:
             - Optionally set the user's password to this crypted value.  See
               the user example in the github examples directory for what this looks
-              like in a playbook.
-            - Passwords values can be generated with "openssl passwd -salt <salt> -1 <plaintext>"
+              like in a playbook. The `FAQ <http://docs.ansible.com/faq.html#how-do-i-generate-crypted-passwords-for-the-user-module>`_
+              contains details on various ways to generate these password values.
     state:
         required: false
         default: "present"