Chapter 3. Using Cygwin
Example 3-8. Setting up the passwd file
$
$ mkdir /etc mkpasswd -l > /etc/passwd
Note that this information is static. If you change the user information in your system, you’ll need to regenerate the passwd file for it to have the new information.
The -d and -l options allow you to specify where the information comes from, either the local machine or the default (or given) domain.
3.6.6. passwd
Usage passwd [name] passwd [-x max] [-n min] [-i inact] [-L len] passwd {-l|-u|-S} name
-x max set max age of passwords
-n min set min age of passwords
-i inact disables account after inact days of expiry
-L len set min password length
-l lock an account
-u
-S unlock an account show account information
passwd changes passwords for user accounts. A normal user may only change the password for their own account, the administrators may change the password for any account. passwd also changes account information, such as password expiry dates and intervals.
Password changes: The user is first prompted for their old password, if one is present.
This password is then encrypted and compared against the stored password. The user has only one chance to enter the correct password. The administrators are permitted to bypass this step so that forgotten passwords may be changed.
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