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Users and Groups

Updated Mar 27, 2021 ·

Tasks​

  1. Set passwords for users to expire after 90 days. New passwords must also minimum of 6 characters.
  2. Ensure empty file tulip is created on the home directries when new users are created.
  3. Create users peter and walter. Make them a member of group fringe as secondary group membership.
  4. Create users anna and anna. Make them a member of group mdynamic as secondary group membership.

Solution​

1. Set Password Policies​

Edit /etc/login.defs file:

sudo vi /etc/login.defs

Ensure the following settings are configured or adjusted:

PASS_MAX_DAYS   90
PASS_MIN_DAYS   0
PASS_MIN_LEN    6

Note:

  • PASS_MAX_DAYS: Specifies the maximum number of days a password is valid.
  • PASS_MIN_DAYS: Minimum number of days allowed between password changes.
  • PASS_MIN_LEN: Minimum length of the password.

To ensure these policies are enforced for existing users, you can force a password change:

sudo chage -M 90 <username>

2. File Creation on User Creation​

Edit /etc/skel/.bashrc (or create it if it doesn't exist):

sudo vi /etc/skel/.bashrc

Add the following line to ensure tulip is created:

touch ~/tulip

3. Create Users peter and walter​

Create Users and Assign Secondary Group Membership:

sudo useradd -m peter -G fringe
sudo useradd -m walter -G fringe

Set passwords for each user:

sudo passwd peter
sudo passwd walter

4. Create Users anna and anna​

Create Users and Assign Secondary Group Membership:

sudo useradd -m anna -G mdynamic
sudo useradd -m elsa -G mdynamic

Set passwords for each user:

sudo passwd anna
sudo passwd elsa