Configure User Accounts
The next step is properly configuring the user accounts on the Web services host.
Password Settings
Forcing good password discipline is critical to the security of a system. Entries in both of the following files affect the use of passwords.
/etc/default/login
Make sure the entry PASSREQ=YES exists and is not commented out
/etc/default/passwd
Set PASSLENGTH=8 to establish a safer minimum length for user passwords.
For extra security, consider setting MAXWEEKS to implement a password aging scheme.
In this 12-part tip Unix expert Gary Smith breaks down the process of building and maintaining a highly secure Web services architecture on the Solaris platform.
Table of contents:
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Michael S. Mimoso, Editorial DirectorPart 2: Install and configure a very basic operating system
Part 3: Force the use of su to gain root access
Part 4: Disable trusted host relationships and create a warning banner
Part 5: Configuring user accounts
Part 6: Disabling and removing unnecessary accounts
Part 7: Configure network access control
Part 8: Configure network services
Part 9: Install OpenSSH, disable NFS and reboot
Part 10: Set file permissions
Part 11: Test the configuration
Part 12: Conclusion
This was first published in October 2002