passwd file

[Sherman H.]

1. Have a question regarding the lastupdate field in the passwd file. Does
lastupdate mean the time the password was changed? Would it be possible
that the password was changed and the field was not updated?

To convert the number (x) in the field, is the formula below correct?

x/86400 + 1/1/1970

2. In general practices, should a root id exist? I just found we have 5 AIX
machines and each has a root whose password has not been changed for at
least 2 years. In AIX, can a user ID be configured as root equivalent
instead of having the root id?

[Steve Nottingham]

"Sherman H." <shung@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:<5hJ7b.6278$PE6.5098@newsread3.news.pas.earth link.net>...

> 1. Have a question regarding the lastupdate field in the passwd file. Does
> lastupdate mean the time the password was changed? Would it be possible
> that the password was changed and the field was not updated?
>
> To convert the number (x) in the field, is the formula below correct?
>
> x/86400 + 1/1/1970
>
> 2. In general practices, should a root id exist? I just found we have 5 AIX
> machines and each has a root whose password has not been changed for at
> least 2 years. In AIX, can a user ID be configured as root equivalent
> instead of having the root id?

Last update is the last time the password was changed. I don't believe
it is possible to change the password without the field being updated,
unless of course someone manually changes the password in the
/etc/security/passwd file. I'm not sure on the exact formula to
convert the time from epoch to current date/time.

I believe a root ID should exist. A userid can be configured to be
root equivalent my changing the id to 0. e.g. chuser <userid> id=0.

Steve