Date: Wed, 17 Jan 1996 07:20:05 -0700 From: kelly@fsl.noaa.gov (Sean Kelly) To: zoogy@cris.com Cc: questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Users Message-ID: <9601171420.AA09177@emu.fsl.noaa.gov> In-Reply-To: <01BAE476.477A9640@chad.gaianet.net> (message from Chad Shackley on Wed, 17 Jan 1996 00:53:45 -0800)
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>>>>> "Chad" == Chad Shackley <zoogy@cris.com> writes:
Chad> seemed fine, = so I rebooted. It came back up with a login
Chad> prompt. The instructions = didn't say anything about this
Welcome to Unix.
Unix absolutely needs one user account, the system manager's account,
in order to things to run. That account is named `root'. When you
see the login prompt, type `root' and press return. You should not be
prompted for a password. (See below if you are.)
Now, this is a big security hole---the root account should always have
a password, so the first thing you should do is set the password for
the root account by typing the `passwd' command.
Enter a password for the root account. You won't see it appear on
screen to prevent people who might be looking over your shoulder from
seeing it.
Okay, so you've logged in as root and you've made a password for root
... now what? Make an account for YOURSELF. Never do any of your
personal work as root. Only do system administration as root.
So, type `adduser' and answer the questions to make an account `zoogy'
or `chad' or whatever you want to call it for yourself. Then log out
of root and log back in with your personal account.
And have fun!
If you need to do system administration again, just log in as `zoogy'
or `chad' or whatever and then type the `su' command to become root.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
What if you WERE prompted for a password after you typed `root'?
Don't worry, you're not out of luck yet. Shut down your system as
cleanly as possible. CTRL+ALT+DEL might work. If that doesn't do it,
try logging in as `sync' with no password. Repeat two more times.
Then hit the reset switch.
When FreeBSD boots, you'll see the `boot:' prompt. If you just wait,
it'll automatically boot. So, very quickly, type `-s' and press
return, which means `boot into single user mode.'
Single user mode is a special maintenance mode for fixing system
problems. And forgetting the root password is definitely a system
problem.
You'll be aksed for a shell to use. Just press return and you get the
Bourne shell. This shell runs as root.
So type `mount -a' to get your filesystems mounted. And then type
`passwd' to set a new password for the root account, as above.
Then type `adduser' as above to make an account for yourself.
Then type CTRL+D to exit the root shell in single user mode. This
will enter multiuser mode. You'll see the familiar `login:' prompt.
Login with your new personal account and have at it!
--
Sean Kelly
NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory, Boulder Colorado USA
I used to be an airline pilot. I got fired because I kept locking the
keys in the plane. They caught me on an 80 foot stepladder with a
coat hanger. -- Steven Wright
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