UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

I was wondering where are the password saved in a UNIX server?
And are there som standar user and pass?

Thanks for answering me. And sorry if this was a really stupid question.

The traditional location for the Unix password file is /etc/passwd.

On a Unix system with either NIS/yp or password shadowing, much of the Unix password data may be stored elsewhere.

Thanks, but are there any standar user and passwords?

Sure, let me tell you all about the TOP SECRET unix password common to ALL MACHINES EVERYWHERE that only 3l33t h@xx0rz know.

I mean... uh...

Not really.

You know? That wasent funny................
I know now that on your UNIX you have a root
but that dosent have any password before you activate it.
You see... I am learning, so please dont be so sarkastic. //dont know how to spell it.

But you did say something about passwd in there I found this..
But I dont know what it means:

root:x:0:0::/root:/bin/bash
bin:x:1:1:bin:/bin:
daemon:x:2:2:daemon:/sbin:
adm:x:3:4:adm:/var/log:


Can someone tell me about it?

I haven't been a UNIX admin for more than 10 years but here is a very brief synopsis:

/etc/passwd contains UNIX logons, their encrypted passwords perhaps still on some systems, their UID, default GID, what's known as the gecos field (informational), and the user's home directory.

/etc/shadow now days augments the /etc/passwd file by holding the encrypted version of the password.

There are some common accounts on UNIX systems such as root, daemon, bin, sys, lp, etc.

Wasn't meant to be. We get "help I forgot the root password" posts all the time but almost never get asked without at least telling us anything at all about situation. your unix? which unix? Syntax of lines in /etc/passwd is:

username:passwordhash:uid:gid:undefined:homedir:loginshell

When the password hash is x, that means it's stored somewhere else, possibly /etc/shadow. It's not stored plaintext, but as an unrecognizable hash. When someone tries to login, it hashes what they type and compares the hashes.

You don't edit any of these files yourself, you use the passwd command. See 'man passwd'.