Changing Your Root Password

It is a good security measure to change your root password every so often. However, this procedure is currently difficult because of the way Athena deals with passwords and passwd files. Here's what you have to do:

• Log in as, or su to, root.
• Type /usr/bin/passwd root and enter a new root password.
• Edit /etc/passwd.local with your favorite text editor and replace the encrypted password following the string ``root:'' with the encrypted root password from /etc/passwd. Important note: If you do not copy the encrypted password correctly, you will have trouble regaining root access on your system. It is best to use your editor's commands to copy it to avoid the possibility of error.