passwd(1)							    passwd(1)



NAME

<h2>   passwd, chfn,	chsh - Changes password	file information </h2>

SYNOPSIS

<h2>   passwd [-f | -s] [username] </h2>

<h2>   chfn [username] </h2>

<h2>   chsh [username] </h2>

  This security-sensitive command uses the SIA (Security Integration Archi-
  tecture) routine as an interface to the security mechanisms. See the
<h2>   matrix.conf(4) reference page	for more information. </h2>

DESCRIPTION

<h2>   The passwd command changes (or installs) the password	associated with	your </h2>
<h2>   username (by default)	or the specified username. </h2>

<h2>   The chfn command changes the finger information in the GECOS field associ- </h2>
<h2>   ated with your username or the specified username.  GECOS is an obsolete </h2>
<h2>   term,	but refers to the finger information field of the passwd structure as </h2>
<h2>   defined in the pwd.h file and	the finger information field of	the </h2>
<h2>   /etc/passwd file as described	in the passwd(4) reference page.  The infor- </h2>
  mation in the	GECOS field has	been formalized	by POSIX and is	a comma
  separated list containing the	user's full name, office phone,	office
  number, and HOME phone number.

<h2>   The chsh command changes the login shell of your username or of the speci- </h2>
<h2>   fied username. </h2>

<h2>   When using the passwd	command	to alter a password, the command prompts for </h2>
  the current password and then	for the	new one.  The caller must supply
  both.	 The new password must be typed	twice to forestall mistakes.

  Each password	must have at least six characters and can include digits,
  symbols, and the letters of your alphabet.  It is strongly suggested that
  you include unusual punctuation, control characters, or digits in your
  password.  Use of only lowercase letters is discouraged.  If you enter more
<h2>   than eight characters	when creating a	password, the passwd command ignores </h2>
  any characters after the eighth.

<h2>   When altering	the GECOS information field, the chfn command displays the </h2>
<h2>   current information, broken into fields, as interpreted by the finger	pro- </h2>
  gram,	among others, and prompts for new values.  These fields	include	a
  user's proper	name, office room number, office phone number, and HOME	phone
  number.  Included in each prompt is a	default	value, which is	enclosed in [
<h2>   ] (brackets).	 The default value is accepted simply by pressing <Return>. </h2>
<h2>   To enter a blank field, the word none	can be entered. </h2>


<h2>   The chfn command allows phone	numbers	to be entered with or without dashes. </h2>
<h2>   It is	a good idea to run finger after	changing the GECOS information to </h2>
  make sure everything is set up properly.

  A superuser can change anyone's GECOS	information; other users can only
  change their own.

<h2>   When altering	a login	shell, the chsh	command	displays the current login </h2>
  shell	and then prompts for the new one.  The new login shell must be one of
<h2>   the approved shells listed in	the /etc/shells	file unless you	have </h2>
<h2>   superuser privileges.	 If the	/etc/shells file does not exist, the only </h2>
<h2>   shells that can be specified are /usr/bin/sh and /usr/bin/csh. </h2>

  Note that if you specify an abbreviated shell	name, the command chooses the
<h2>   first	entry in the /etc/shells file that matches the shell abbreviation. </h2>
<h2>   For example, if you specify ksh, and both the	/bin/ksh and /usr/bin/ksh </h2>
<h2>   shells are included in the /etc/shells file, the shell is changed to the </h2>
  shell	that is	specified first.

  A superuser can change anyone's login	shell; normal users can	only change
  their	own login shell.

				 Security Note
<h2>        When you	use the	passwd command,	with enhanced security installed, the </h2>
       system prompts for the existing password, and begins a password soli-
       citation	dialog that depends on the options for password	generation
       the administrator has enabled for your account.	There are four possi-
       ble options:

<h2>        Random syllables </h2>
		 A pronounceable password made up of meaningless syllables.

<h2>        Random characters </h2>
		 An unpronounceable password made up of	random characters
		 from the character set.

<h2>        Random letters </h2>
		 An unpronounceable password made up of	random letters from
		 the alphabet.

<h2>        User supplied </h2>
		 A user	specified password, which is subject to	length and
		 triviality restrictions.

       A maximum length	is specified for all user passwords.  The minimum
       password	length depends on several parameters set in the	authentica-
       tion databases.

       The system requires a minimum time to elapse before you can change
       your password.  This stops you from reusing an old password too soon.

<h2>        A password expires after	a period of time known as the expiration </h2>
<h2>        time.  The system warns you when	the expiration time is drawing near. </h2>

<h2>        A password dies after a period of time known as the password lifetime. </h2>
       After the lifetime passes, your account is locked until the adminis-
       trator reenables	it.  After unlocking, you must change your password
       again before you	can use	your account.

       When you	successfully type your old password, the system	prints the
       last successful and unsuccessful	password change	times.	Make sure
       that these times	are accurate; use them to detect attempted password
       changes by an unauthorized user.

       You can change your own password	if the administrator has enabled any
       of the password generation options for your account.

<h2>        Using the passwd	command	to reset a user's password does	not unlock </h2>
       the user's account if the account is locked for a reason	other than an
       expired password.


       If a password longer than 8 character was entered under base security
       and then	enhanced security is installed,	you must use only the first 8
       characters of the original password.  This is because base security
       only used the first 8 characters	of the password	and the
       enhanced/extended password is created from the base password.

<h2>        See the Security	manual for detailed instructions on changing your </h2>
       password.

				 End Security Note

FLAGS

<h2>   -f  Invokes the chfn command when given with the passwd command. </h2>

<h2>   -s  Invokes the chsh command when given with the passwd command. </h2>

EXAMPLES

<h2>    1.  To change your password,	enter: </h2>
<h2> 	    passwd </h2>


       You are prompted	for your old password (if it exists).  You are then
       prompted	twice for the new password.

<h2>    2.  To change the office number and building	values in your GECOS informa- </h2>
       tion, enter:
<h2> 	    chfn </h2>


       Your current GECOS values are displayed.	 Follow	the instructions and
       change your office number.  For example,	enter:
<h2> 	    Name [Huan Kim]: </h2>
<h2> 	    Room Number	[3A-41]: 4A-43 </h2>
<h2> 	    Office Phone [3-1234]: </h2>
<h2> 	    Home Phone [555-1234]: </h2>

 FILES

<h2>   /etc/passwd </h2>
	     Contains user information.

<h2>   /etc/shells </h2>
	     The list of approved shells.

RELATED	INFORMATION

<h2>   Commands: finger(1), login(1), vipw(8) </h2>

<h2>   Files: matrix.conf(4), passwd(4) </h2>

<h2>   Security </h2>