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Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!mcnc!xanth!john
From: john@xanth.UUCP (John Owens)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Passwords in /etc/group
Message-ID: <1491@xanth.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 6-Jul-87 12:05:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: xanth.1491
Posted: Mon Jul  6 12:05:35 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 8-Jul-87 00:49:21 EDT
References: <5740010@hpfcdc.HP.COM> <207@macom1.UUCP> <3671@cisunx.UUCP>
Organization: Old Dominion University, Norfolk Va.
Lines: 14

> One thing I'd like to pas along i to use vipw, not vi, to edit the passwd
> file.
> IF for some reason, you make a small mistake in vi, and corrupt the password
> file - vi will not catch it, but vipw will.

Also, vipw uses the file /etc/ptmp, whose presence "locks" the
password file.  If you didn't use vipw or something similar, and someone
changed their password while you were editing the file, their change
would be lost when you write your version of the passwd file.

-- 
John Owens		Old Dominion University - Norfolk, Virginia, USA
john@ODU.EDU		old arpa: john%odu.edu@RELAY.CS.NET
+1 804 440 4529		old uucp: {seismo,harvard,sun,hoptoad}!xanth!john