[ale] Changing UID of a user

[hne at hopnet.net (Keith Hopkins)]

Ryan Fish wrote:
>
> Is changing the UID of a user as simple as setting it to the new value 
> in /etc/passwd, saving the file then using chown to update ownership 
> on the affected files/directories?
>
>  
>
> So far Google hasn't returned anything of value in my searches...
>
>  
>
Hi Ryan,

  The biggest 'gotcha' will depend on how you store your passwords.  If 
you do it directly in /etc/passwd (not recommended), then yes, you're 
method should work fine and dandy.  If you store them elsewhere, like in 
a shadow file (standard on most Linux distros), then those security 
files also need updating.

  Try using the `usermod --uid` command instead of updating /etc/passwd 
manually.

  Next will be any applications that depend on the UID in the password 
file, instead of the username.  I can't think of any apps offhand that 
do that, but you never know...

--Keith

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