On 2010/07/31 10:37 PM, William Astle wrote: > On 10-07-31 09:12 PM, [email protected] wrote: >> Ubuntu and most of it's variants don't /use/ a root password though it >> can be set if you really want. The root password is not set by default >> for security reasons. The effect is that if an attacker attempts to log >> in as root, they will have no success no matter how many times they try >> because the root user is not /able/ to log in directly... >> >> The proper method for Ubuntu / Kubuntu / etc. is to log in as an admin >> enabled user - usally the user that was first set up - and use the >> command line as such: >> >> # sudo<whichever command/binary you want to use> >> password: >> >> The system will prompt you for the user's password. The password is >> hidden - in fact, no characters of any sort are displayed, so be careful >> typing the user's password. If they are set up as an admin and are also >> in the "sudoer" file, then the application will(should) execute as root. >> A neat little trick I use to keep from having to type sudo all the time >> is to run: >> >> # sudo su - >> >> It's a neat trick, but don't get in the habit of doing it all the time - >> it's bad muju. > > Or you could just use "sudo -i" which accomplishes the same thing. > > Of course, none of this helps if you can't log in in the first place > because you don't know ANY password on the system. This is the case in > the original query. > > Ah, yes, reading too fast I guess.
Micheal, if this is the case, you'll have to either 1) re-install the OS or 2a) boot into a live-cd type utility disk like Ubuntu or a Knoppix 2b) mount the hard drive, edit the /etc/passwd 2c) identify which one of the accounts is the one that was added during install 2d) blank the password 2e) reboot the system and log in with the blank password The user account you're looking for is often the last one in the file and should be some represent of the user's name. Feel free to contact me directly via phone for faster, much more timely and direct assistance. (403 667 3201 Regards, Andrew Vliet _______________________________________________ clug-talk mailing list [email protected] http://clug.ca/mailman/listinfo/clug-talk_clug.ca Mailing List Guidelines (http://clug.ca/ml_guidelines.php) **Please remove these lines when replying
