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From: rvp@softserver.canberra.edu.au (Rey Paulo)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: What does '*' symbol in /etc/passwd means?
Message-ID: <1991May27.024122.1255@csc.canberra.edu.au>
Date: 27 May 91 02:41:22 GMT
Article-I.D.: csc.1991May27.024122.1255
References: <27017@adm.brl.mil> <1991May25.153939.13870@mp.cs.niu.edu>
Sender: Rey V. Paulo
Organization: University of Canberra
Lines: 17

In article <1991May25.153939.13870@mp.cs.niu.edu> rickert@mp.cs.niu.edu (Neil Rickert) writes:
>
> It doesn't mean anything in particular.  It represents the encrypted password.
>It happens that no encrypted password can ever be '*', so this is just one
>way of preventing anybody from ever logging in on this account.
>
> If for some reason I want to suspend a user from logging in, I might just
>prefer to put 'SUSPEND' in this field, as another way of preventing logins.
>
Yes, that's right.  It is also more secure if you can include characters in
this field which don't belong to the encrypted alphabet.  One of these
characters is '*'.
-- 
Rey V. Paulo                  | Internet:  rvp@csc.canberra.edu.au 
University of Canberra        | I am not bound to please thee with my answer. 
AUSTRALIA                     |         -Shylock, in "The Merchant of Venice" 
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