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Setting up Users -- Passwords

GNU/Linux is a multi-user environment. Every person who is to have access to your GNU/Linux system will need their own user name and password. This screen allows you set the password for the root user (the very powerful administrative account), and one ordinary user. More users can be added by root after SOT Linux has been installed.

Figure 1.17: Setting up a user account and passwords

Administrator password. Choose a password for the administrator (or root) account. The password should be at least five characters long and should include some digits and special characters, for example @, #, { or !. Try not to pick a password consisting only of letters of the alphabet - these passwords are not particularly secure. Your password is case sensitive - make sure you don't have your caps lock key turned on by mistake. You won't be able to read the password as you type it. Instead, each character of the password will appear as "*" - this is one of GNU/Linux's security features. As a precaution against typos, you are required to enter the password twice. Good passwords shouldn't be actual words, or make any obvious sense. Having said that, choose a root password you will be certain to remember. The root user may issue ordinary users new passwords, but if you forget the root password itself, you are in BIG trouble.

Bad password choices include:

• Names. Don't use your login name, your own name or the names of friends, relatives or pets, e.g. "Michael", "Dianne" etc.
• Ordinary words, e.g. "computer", "password", "chocolate"
• Meaningful numbers. Don't use your birthdate, phone number, bank account number or any other number associated with you.

Good passwords include these features:

• A MIxtUrE of upper and lower case characters.
• Numb3r5 as well as letters.
• Punctuation marks and other special characters, to make the password rea!!y h*rd to gue$$.

Login This is the alias you use to log into your ordinary user account. It can be practically anything, so long as it doesn't conflict with special system account names like "root", "news", "mail" or "bin". User account logins are commonly nicknames or initials, and usually in lower case. They cannot contain special characters.

Name This is your actual human name, and will be associated with your user name on your outgoing email and elsewhere in GNU/Linux.

Password Similar guidelines apply to your user password as with the root password, but you will not be allowed to select the same password for both accounts!

Press the > button to save your password information and continue with the installation.

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