trashthing
02-05-2003, 04:52 PM
hi. i have a account on my computer and don't know the password. is there software that can tell me the password?
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viperlin
02-05-2003, 05:01 PM
if there was software to tell you the password then linux would be as secure as windows
log in as root and you can change the password without it asking for the original (i think)
log in as root and you can change the password without it asking for the original (i think)
Centerplex
02-05-2003, 05:02 PM
In short, no.
But this is a good thing, for security reasons. Passwords aren't stored anywhere on the system. Only the hashed (or are they encrypted? minor detail...) versions of the passwords are stored on the system. Whenever you log in, the password you enter is run through that same hashing algorithm, and compared with the stored hashed version. (I'm assuming you're using MD5 and shadow passwords).
Assuming you have root access, the easiest thing to do is log in as root, then type 'passwd username' and you can reset the password for that user. If the password you don't know is the root password, you have to boot either into runlevel 1, or off a rescue disk, and do something similar.
But this is a good thing, for security reasons. Passwords aren't stored anywhere on the system. Only the hashed (or are they encrypted? minor detail...) versions of the passwords are stored on the system. Whenever you log in, the password you enter is run through that same hashing algorithm, and compared with the stored hashed version. (I'm assuming you're using MD5 and shadow passwords).
Assuming you have root access, the easiest thing to do is log in as root, then type 'passwd username' and you can reset the password for that user. If the password you don't know is the root password, you have to boot either into runlevel 1, or off a rescue disk, and do something similar.
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