3. Create system users¶

System users¶

After installing Calculate Linux Desktop the user guest is the only one present on the system. Use this account to explore the OS.

The guest user password can be changed at any time. By default, you can log in remotely using the ssh-protocol as root.

Changing passwords when installing on multiple computers can be automated. For this, install the system on the first computer, change passwords with the passwd command, then save the /etc/shadow file in your template.

Adding users¶

Linux OS copes quite well with the control over the user's actions. For example, you can specify access to the CD/DVD-drive, the sound card, the scanner and even to games. To empower the user with the necessary authority, add him to the relevant system group.

In order to avoid risks, the root user is not allowed to work in graphical environment. Therefore, you have to temporarily switch to the console by pressing Ctrl+Alt+F1. At the prompt enter root as the login, and then enter the root's password. After that, enter the following commands:

/usr/sbin/useradd --groups users,wheel,audio,cdrom,video,cdrw,usb,plugdev,games,lp,scanner,uucp login
/bin/passwd login

Any word consisting of letters and numbers can be used as a login name.

When creating a user you should not create a home directory for them. When you first log into the system, an adjusted template will be created automatically for the user.

In the example above, a user with access rights to several groups is created, namely:

• users - to access to the Wicd network manager;
• wheel - to obtain root privileges using the su command;
• audio - to obtain access to your sound card;
• cdrom - to access to the CD/DVD drive;
• video - to access to the TV-tuner;
• cdrw - to write to CD/DVD-disks;
• usb - to access to mp3-players, flash-drives, access to USB in VirtualBox;
• plugdev - to mount USB-devices;
• games - to access to games;
• scanner - to access to the scanner;
• lp - to access to a MFP-embedded scanner;
• uucp - to access to the modem.

To return into graphic mode, close your session by typing exit (or pressing Ctrl+d), and then hit Ctrl+F7.

Changing Permissions¶

To add a user to some group, use the gpasswd command. Here is an example of adding a user to the games group:

gpasswd -a login games

Users migration¶

When installing or reinstalling Calculate Linux Desktop from an already running Linux OS, all users and their permissions will be transferred. You will only need to re-assign passwords using the command passwd, as described above.