MESSAGE
DATE | 2014-08-04 |
FROM | Ron Guerin
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SUBJECT | Re: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] I was really really dumb
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On 8/4/2014 1:43 AM, Ruben Safir wrote: > On Sun, Aug 03, 2014 at 09:50:55PM -0400, Contrarian wrote: >> >> I let someone look at my laptop for a "free diagnostic" >> for some minor issue >> >> yes, he had the root password. >> >> The next time I booted up my user password would not work. >> the system simply would not accept it. (for some reason it usually >> doesn't "take" ther first time) >> >> Not on the desktop or for a shell. >> >> I logged in as root. changed the user password. >> >> When I came to shut down the *root* password was not accepted. >> >> Ruben looked at it last Monday. >> >> after a colloquy along the lines of or >> >> R: This is Linux not $OTHER_OS, things don't "just happen" >> what did you DO? >> >> J: I didn't do anything but change the user password. >> I don't think I've ever done anything as root other than >> shut down (and change some file permissions once or twice) >> >> [repeat] >> >> Then I recollected my folly. >> >> He fixed it, many thanks. this was not the usual workaround >> for a forgotten root password. >> >> I don't have the details; ask him if you want to know. >> >> Never again. > > > For whatever it is worth, I tried to boot the system from a opensuse > resue "live" cd and changed the /etc/shadow and /etc/passwd files for > the root user to a null password. This did not work for some reason. I > was stumped and still stumped as to why this wouldn't work. > > > Then I mounted the actual filesystem to the root using chroot and tried to run the > passwd command. That failed because of a lack of acces to /dev/urand > > So I mounted with unity all the system and proc directories and THEN > chrooted the file system and ran passwd. That did work.
Ok, so that's how you fixed it. I'm still unclear what this guy did to JoAnn's notebook and why.
- Ron
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