Topic: users

• Local users and groups done right: useradd, system accounts, password aging and the usermod -aG trap

  useradd -m -s creates an interactive user with a home directory and shell; --system with a nologin shell is the right shape for a service account. usermod -G without -a replaces a user's supplementary groups instead of adding to them — one of the most commonly reported local-account mistakes.

  methodology · en · reviewed · knowledge as of 2026-09-24

• AIX user administration: mkuser/chuser/lsuser, /etc/security/user, and forcing a password change

  AIX splits user data across /etc/passwd and the security database (/etc/security/user, /etc/security/passwd), managed through mkuser/chuser/lsuser/pwdadm rather than direct file edits. A new account has no usable password until one is set, and login restrictions such as logintimes live in /etc/security/user, invisible to a plain /etc/passwd read.

  article · en · reviewed · knowledge as of 2026-09-24

Machine-readable: JSON