Re: The Shadow Password Conundrum

Alan Curry (pacman-kernel@cqc.com)
Mon, 22 Feb 1999 16:06:19 -0500 (EST)

Juan Carlos Castro y Castro writes the following:
>
>3) The util-linux README (newest version) says it doesn't support shadow
>paswords! (Using /etc/passwd is not acceptable for me.)
>
>4) I could install, over util-linux, the Shadow Password Suite found at
>
>ftp://i17linuxb.ists.pwr.wroc.pl/pub/linux/shadow
>
>but is it safe? There's a July 98 version deemed stable, and a December
>98 version deemed "development". None of them ever mentions kernel 2.2
>or the newest version of util-linux.
>
>What do I do?

What are you running now? PAM login?

Whatever it is, there is no need for you to install the util-linux login
program. Read its documentation, and you will find there are options to
disable the things you don't need. If you set the config correctly,
util-linux will not overwrite your existing shadow utilities.

>
>And what's the reasoning behind not supporting shadow passwords in
>util-linux?

Because the shadow suite supersedes the util-linux login program. Nobody
should be using the util-linux login anymore. Even if you keep your passwords
in /etc/passwd, the shadow suite's highly configurable login program is
reason enough to install it.

-- 
Alan Curry


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