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Summary

In this section we learned about the basics of the login process.

We know that logging in begins with a username and password. People cannot log in to a UNIX system if they do not have a username and password.

We know that the computer system begins a login shell for each person that logs in. It uses information from the "/etc/passwd" file to determine what shell to start, and what the user's "home" directory is.

During the login process, we know that the system login file "/etc/profile" is read, followed by the ".profile" located in the user's home directory. These files are read, and actions are taken based on what is contained in these files.

Most user's .profile files contain a command such as menu at the end of the file. Menus are different at most every site, but they all serve the same purpose.


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Next: Fundamentals of TCP/IP Networking Up: The Login Process Previous: Notes   Contents