Linux Bible, 8th Edition

Chapter 11

Managing User Accounts

In This Chapter

Working with user accounts

Working with group accounts

Configuring centralized user accounts

Adding and managing users are common tasks for Linux systems administrators. User accounts keep boundaries between the people who use your systems and between the processes that run on your systems. Groups are a way of assigning rights to your system that can be assigned to multiple users at once.

This section describes not only how to create a new user, but also how to create predefined settings and files to configure the user's environment. Using tools such as the useradd and usermod commands, you can assign settings such as the location of a home directory, a default shell, a default group, and specific user ID and group ID values.

Creating User Accounts

Every person who uses your Linux system should have a separate user account. Having a user account provides each person with an area in which to securely store files, as well as a means of tailoring his or her user interface (GUI, path, environment variables, and so on) to suit the way that he or she uses the computer.

You can add user accounts to most Linux systems in several ways. Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems use the User Manager window (system-config-users) utility on the desktop. From Red Hat Enterprise Linux, select System ⇒ Administration ⇒ Users & Groups, and type the root password when prompted. When the window appears, select the Add User button. Figure 11.1 ...