Managing Systems and Workgroups: A Guide for HP-UX System Administrators

Configuring a System
Controlling Access to a System
Chapter 3 245
Controlling Access to a System
You can control who has access to your system, its files, and its processes.
Authorized users gain access to the system by supplying a valid user
name (login name) and password. Each user is defined by an entry in the
file/etc/passwd. You can use SAM to add, remove, deactivate,
reactivate, or modify a user account.
For additional information about passwords, refer to passwd (4) and
passwd (1). To manually change user account entries, use the
/usr/sbin/vipw command to edit /etc/passwd; see vipw (1M) for
details.
See also “Administering a System: Managing System Security” on
page 741.
Adding a User to a System
You can add a user several ways:
• “Using SAM to Add a User” on page 246.
• “Manually Adding a User” on page 247.
• “Automating the Process of Adding a User” on page 248.
To add a user, you do the following tasks:
❏ Ensure that the user has a unique UID.
❏ Insert a line for the user in the /etc/passwd file.
❏ Make a home directory for the user.
❏ Create an environment for the user.
Consider performing the following tasks for your new user:
• Add a user to a group. See “Defining Group Membership” on
page 250.
• Add a user to mail distribution lists.
• Add a user to disk quota systems.