03-27-2002
Can you as root do a su - joeuser (please put in one of the userID instead of joeuser)?
There is NOTHING on SunSolve for this - normally if a directory is missing or mistyped in /etc/passwd you get dumped into / or /tmp as a home directory. I changed my /etc/passwd file to add a space in different places but could not create your error.
Ask yourself what changes occurred - who else may have changed something -
Do you use any products or scripts to administer user accounts - any changes to those (or bugs that would have to be found on 3rd party web sites).
Any backups happening while someone could have been changing their password - (I haven't seen that problem since 4.1.x but you never know)
Oh, I'm on my way out of here so hopefully someone else is watching for your answers and have more info. Good luck - I'll check back in later (possibly)
9 More Discussions You Might Find Interesting
1. Shell Programming and Scripting
I have found a script to create user accounts. But there are a few lines i dont understand. Can someone help me with this? Here's the code:
######################################
while ;
do
ACCT=${USER_ACCT}${START}
START=`expr $START + 1`
START=`echo ${START} | awk... (3 Replies)
Discussion started by: Sensor
3 Replies
2. UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers
I have a root access to a UNIX system. I want to create another account with administrative permissions (create users, delete them, manage print and system configuration), how do I do that?
I have a Solaris 9 (SunOS 5.9) installed. Please help. :o (3 Replies)
Discussion started by: neked
3 Replies
3. UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers
Hi,
I was wondering if someone could tell me how to display a list of all existing user accounts on the system, not neccesarily looged in. Thanks in advance
Stephen (3 Replies)
Discussion started by: sroberts82
3 Replies
4. UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers
Hey everyone I am new to the forums and to Unix. I am currently taking a class on Unix, our teacher posed the question to us How do u create a user account without using GUI or command? We are currently running Knoppix version of Unix and for the life of me I can't figure out how this is possible.... (0 Replies)
Discussion started by: Redditt90kg
0 Replies
5. Shell Programming and Scripting
Hi,
I have written a program using shell scripting. When you run the file it will asks you to enter the user name, if the user exists it says " user exists " if not it will displays like " user doesnt exist" and then asks you like " do you want to add user with options Yes or No " if you say... (1 Reply)
Discussion started by: vishwaprasad
1 Replies
6. UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers
hello ppl, someone must be able to help with this --> I have an old NCR tower 32 with an ADDS terminal running a unix version 020102 (Im not sure if thats correct but its unix for sure). I have no user names and no passwords and need to login to read a tape. Is there any way to do that? I hear... (3 Replies)
Discussion started by: orestis
3 Replies
7. UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers
Thanks
AVKlinux (3 Replies)
Discussion started by: avklinux
3 Replies
8. Solaris
Hi All,
How to know all the shells a user has access.
Thank you . (0 Replies)
Discussion started by: rama krishna
0 Replies
9. OS X (Apple)
Hi All
I am trying to find a way to set-up a thunderbird account by using a script, i have been trying to to add the lines into the pref.js file but it keeps getting overwritten
any help would be great
thanks
Adam (0 Replies)
Discussion started by: ab52
0 Replies
LEARN ABOUT REDHAT
passmass
PASSMASS(1) General Commands Manual PASSMASS(1)
NAME
passmass - change password on multiple machines
SYNOPSIS
passmass [ host1 host2 host3 ... ]
INTRODUCTION
Passmass changes a password on multiple machines. If you have accounts on several machines that do not share password databases, Passmass
can help you keep them all in sync. This, in turn, will make it easier to change them more frequently.
When Passmass runs, it asks you for the old and new passwords. (If you are changing root passwords and have equivalencing, the old pass-
word is not used and may be omitted.)
Passmass understands the "usual" conventions. Additional arguments may be used for tuning. They affect all hosts which follow until
another argument overrides it. For example, if you are known as "libes" on host1 and host2, but "don" on host3, you would say:
passmass host1 host2 -user don host3
Arguments are:
-user
User whose password will be changed. By default, the current user is used.
-rlogin
Use rlogin to access host. (default)
-slogin
Use slogin to access host.
-telnet
Use telnet to access host.
-program
Next argument is a program to run to set the password. Default is "passwd". Other common choices are "yppasswd" and "set
passwd" (e.g., VMS hosts). A program name such as "password fred" can be used to create entries for new accounts (when run as
root).
-prompt
Next argument is a prompt suffix pattern. This allows the script to know when the shell is prompting. The default is "# " for
root and "% " for non-root accounts.
-timeout
Next argument is the number of seconds to wait for responses. Default is 30 but some systems can be much slower logging in.
-su
Next argument is 1 or 0. If 1, you are additionally prompted for a root password which is used to su after logging in. root's
password is changed rather than the user's. This is useful for hosts which do not allow root to log in.
HOW TO USE
The best way to run Passmass is to put the command in a one-line shell script or alias. Whenever you get a new account on a new machine,
add the appropriate arguments to the command. Then run it whenever you want to change your passwords on all the hosts.
CAVEATS
Using the same password on multiple hosts carries risks. In particular, if the password can be stolen, then all of your accounts are at
risk. Thus, you should not use Passmass in situations where your password is visible, such as across a network which hackers are known to
eavesdrop.
On the other hand, if you have enough accounts with different passwords, you may end up writing them down somewhere - and that can be a
security problem. Funny story: my college roommate had an 11"x13" piece of paper on which he had listed accounts and passwords all across
the Internet. This was several years worth of careful work and he carried it with him everywhere he went. Well one day, he forgot to
remove it from his jeans, and we found a perfectly blank sheet of paper when we took out the wash the following day!
SEE ALSO
"Exploring Expect: A Tcl-Based Toolkit for Automating Interactive Programs" by Don Libes, O'Reilly and Associates, January 1995.
AUTHOR
Don Libes, National Institute of Standards and Technology
7 October 1993 PASSMASS(1)