Re: shadow password

[LeVA <leva@az.isten.hu>]

2005. március 31. 17:09,
"Derek \"The Monkey\" Wueppelmann" <monkey@monkeynet.ca> 
-> debian-user@lists.debian.org,:
> On Wed, 2005-03-30 at 18:16, James Scott wrote:
> > I am attempting to configure a package that is instructing me to
> > assign a password to the user account of a different package.  I am
> > new to Linux, so I am a little afraid as to what affect this might
> > have on my system.
> >
> > When I look at the /etc/shadow file, the password field is currently
> > an exclamation point (:!:).  I understand that an asterisk (:*:) would
> > mean that the account is disabled, but I don't what the exclamation
> > means?
Actually, the asterisk makes sure, that no password can match it.
The exclamation mark means that the account has been locked with usermod.
> >
> > If I assign a password to this account, and it breaks the other
> > package, how can I change it back to whatever the :!: is?
>
> Well you can always edit your shadow- file as root an change whatever is
> in there back to the :!:. This would reset the password back to whatever
> ! means, I must admit that I do not know what it does mean. But at least
> you would be able to go back to the previous state the system was in.

Daniel

-- 
LeVA