Adding user's and groups
 

Is it ok to edit the /etc/passwd and /etc/group files
manually to add users and groups or would this circumvent other required system
commands from being executed when adding them at the command line via useradd
and groupadd?


Â*


In reading the docs @ http://www.centos.org/docs/5/html/Deployment_Guide-en-US/s1-users-tools.html#s2-users-cmd-line
I see a user that is created with these utilities is disabled until unlocked
with passwd. If someone is creating users for services without home dirs and
shell access, how do you handle the password? Looking at the example provided
in a doc I am reading, there is “*� in the password field in the
passwd file. Is that suggesting it’s just not displayed in the doc, or
does the “*� have specific meaning?


Â*


Thanks!

jlc







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Adding user's and groups
 

Joseph L. Casale wrote:


Is it ok to edit the /etc/passwd and /etc/group files manually to add
users and groups or would this circumvent other required system
commands from being executed when adding them at the command line via
useradd and groupadd?


In reading the docs @
http://www.centos.org/docs/5/html/Deployment_Guide-en-US/s1-users-tools.html#s2-users-cmd-line
I see a user that is created with these utilities is disabled until
unlocked with passwd. If someone is creating users for services
without home dirs and shell access, how do you handle the password?
Looking at the example provided in a doc I am reading, there is “*� in
the password field in the passwd file. Is that suggesting it’s just
not displayed in the doc, or does the “*� have specific meaning?






the useradd/mod/del and passwd commands will work with any supported
PAM, while manually editing /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow will only work
if you're using the default authentication methods.



re: the *, see `man 5 passwd`






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Adding user's and groups
 

On Dec 2, 2007 10:52 PM, Joseph L. Casale <jcasale@activenetwerx.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Is it ok to edit the /etc/passwd and /etc/group files manually to add users
> and groups or would this circumvent other required system commands from
> being executed when adding them at the command line via useradd and
> groupadd?

edit passwd and group is enough but if you need home dir, you need to
create it manualy, chmod and chown it

>
>
>
> In reading the docs @
> http://www.centos.org/docs/5/html/Deployment_Guide-en-US/s1-users-tools.html#s2-users-cmd-line
> I see a user that is created with these utilities is disabled until unlocked
> with passwd. If someone is creating users for services without home dirs and
> shell access, how do you handle the password?

with
# passwd username

> Looking at the example
> provided in a doc I am reading, there is "*" in the password field in the
> passwd file. Is that suggesting it's just not displayed in the doc, or does
> the "*" have specific meaning?

*, mean you can not login as this user (their is no password). Anyway
you can still
# su username
if you are root because root dont need to provide a password to
impersonate another user

Regards

>
>
>
> Thanks!
> jlc
> _______________________________________________
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS@centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>
>



--
Alain Spineux
aspineux gmail com
May the sources be with you
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Adding user's and groups
 

>edit passwd and group is enough but if you need home dir, you need to
>create it manualy, chmod and chown it

>*, mean you can not login as this user (their is no password).

Alain and John,
Thanks! The man didn't provide this last bit of info! So no password makes since as I have not come across any docs when installing daemons that indicate where to provide the password!

Thank you both,
jlc

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