When you first log on to the server, you'll have been assigned a password. You should change this password to something that is easy for you to remember but difficult for others to guess (or derive). (A good summary article of how to select strong passwords is at FPA.)
The program that you'll use to change your password is passwd. It prompts you three times.
- You'll first enter your current password.
- Then enter the new password that you want to use.
- And then finally, to ensure that you're entering the new password correctly, you're prompted a second time for the new password.
Helpful Hint
Remember that when you enter the password, what you type is not echoed to the terminal. You'll just need to pretend that your key presses are being received.
Change your default password to a strong password:
john-williams@codermerlin:~$ passwd
Changing password for john-williams.
(current) UNIX password:
Enter new UNIX password:
Retype new UNIX password:
passwd: password updated successfully
