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<th colspan="3" align="center">1.7. User Management</th>
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<h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="drakxid-addUser"></a>1.7. User Management
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<h3 class="title"><a name="d5e834"></a>1.7.1. Administrator (root) Password
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<p>
<b>The Root Password
is Key to Your System Security. </b>
The
<code class="literal">root</code> user is the system administrator and is the only
user authorized to make updates, add users, change the overall system
configuration, and so on. In short, <code class="literal">root</code> can do
everything! That's why you must choose a password which is difficult to
guess: <span class="application">DrakX</span> tells you if the password you
chose is too simple. Depending on the security level you chose, you're
not forced to enter a password, but we <span class="emphasis"><em>strongly</em></span>
encourage you to do so. <span class="application">Linux</span> is just as
prone to operator error as any other operating system. Since
<code class="literal">root</code> can overcome all limitations and unintentionally
erase all data on partitions by carelessly accessing the partitions
themselves, becoming <code class="literal">root</code> <span class="emphasis"><em>must</em></span>
be difficult.
</p>
<p>
<b>Choose the Right
Password. </b>
The password
should be a mixture of alphanumeric characters and its minimum length
will vary according to the chosen security level. Never write down
<code class="literal">root</code>'s password — it makes it far too easy to
compromise your system. However, don't make the password too long or too
complicated because you must be able to remember it too!
</p>
<div class="tip" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
<table border="0" summary="Tip: Check your password is secure enough">
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<td rowspan="2" align="center" valign="top" width="25"><img alt="[Tip]" src="images/tip.png"></td>
<th align="left">Check your password is secure enough</th>
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<p>User management application can help you to check your
password is strong enough. In password field, you will see an icon coming as
you are entering your password. The
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="images/password_weak.png"></span> icon means your password is much too weak and could be broken
in a few seconds. The
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="images/password_average.png"></span> icon means your password is rather secure but you could have a
much better one. Finally the
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="images/password_strong.png"></span> icon means your password is really secure, you should not have any
problem using it.
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<p>
<b>Enter the Password,
Twice. </b>
The password
won't be displayed on screen as you type it. To reduce the chance of a
blind typing error you have to enter the password twice.
</p>
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<h3 class="title"><a name="d5e876"></a>1.7.2. Enter a User
</h3>
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<p>
<b>Create a User. </b>
You are first asked
for a real name. <span class="application">DrakX</span> uses the first word
you type in this field and copies it, all in lowercase, to the
<span class="guilabel">Login name </span> field, which is the name this user must
enter to log on to the system. Then enter a password, twice (for
confirmation). From a security point of view, a non-privileged (regular)
user's password isn't as crucial as the <code class="literal">root</code>
password, but that's no reason to neglect it by making it too simple:
after all, <span class="emphasis"><em>your </em></span> files could be the ones at
risk.
</p>
<p>
<b>Linux is a Secure
Multi-User System. </b>
You can add other
users. Refer to <a class="xref" href="drakx-misc-params.html" title="1.9. Checking Miscellaneous Parameters">Section 1.9, “Checking Miscellaneous
Parameters”</a>. Each user may have
his own preferences, files and so on. But unlike the system
administrator called <code class="literal">root</code>, the user you create at
this point is not authorized to change anything except its own files and
configurations, protecting the system from unintentional or malicious
changes which could have a serious impact.
</p>
<div class="tip" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
<table border="0" summary="Tip: More options for users accounts">
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<td rowspan="2" align="center" valign="top" width="25"><img alt="[Tip]" src="images/tip.png"></td>
<th align="left">More options for users accounts</th>
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<p><a name="BId-drakxid-addUser-pa4"></a>Clicking on
<span class="guilabel">Advanced</span> allows you to change the default shell for
that user (<span class="application">bash</span> by default), and to manually
choose the user and group <acronym class="acronym">ID</acronym>s for that user.
</p>
<p>By default, new installation of Mandriva Linux comes with a guest
account (Refer to <a class="xref" href="">???</a>. You can disable it by
unchecking <span class="guilabel">Guest account enabled</span>.
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