problems creating own /etc/passwd file

On Tue, 2003-12-16 at 10:24, Craig White wrote:
> On Tue, 2003-12-16 at 10:02, Liberty Young wrote:
> > On Mon, 2003-12-15 at 15:11, Jeremy C. Reed wrote:
> > > On Mon, 15 Dec 2003, Liberty Young wrote:
> > >
> > > > i'm setting up an ftp server (against my wishes) and i'm need to make my
> > > > own /etc/passwd clone as the ftp server can use an alternate passwd
> > > > file. I'm having trouble creating it, though...how do i crypt the
> > > > passwords in the password field?
> > >
> > > A perl example:
> > >

> > >  $name = $ARGV[0];
> > >  @salt_chars         = ('a'..'z','A'..'Z','0'..'9');
> > >  $salt               = $salt_chars[rand(62)] . $salt_chars[rand(62)];
> > >  $passwd = crypt ($ARGV[1], $salt);
> > >  print "$name:$passwd\n";

> > >
> > > You can also use Apache's htpasswd. (And maybe proftpd's ftpasswd.)
> > >
> > > And some systems have a makekey(8) and/or encrypt(1) commands that can be
> > > used to create hashed passwords.
> > >
> > > By the way, what FTP server are you using and how did you configure it to
> > > use an alternative password file?
> > >

> > >    Jeremy C. Reed
> > >    http://www.reedmedia.net/

> >
> > I'm using ProFTPd. It has a AuthUsersFile and an AuthgroupsFile
> > directive that can specify an alternate /etc/passwd file to use...It
> > would work out _perfectly_, if only it would behave intuitively in
> > regards to chroot (DefaultRoot). Instead, I have to chroot all of my
> > virtual users (ftp only, with no accounts at all on the system) in one
> > ftp directory.. Then, in the virtual directory, place another fake
> > /etc/passwd in that (but which is not the alternate passwd file), which
> > is then used to pop logged in users to their "home directory".
> >
> ----
> couldn't you just use the normal passwd to add the user, then create a
> password and copy the user user from /etc/passwd and the password from
> /etc/shadow into the new virtual passwd file and then delete the user
> from the normal system?
>
> Craig
>

these other replies where late in coming to me, so that's what i ended
up doing...though had i known this stuff, i would've done those things
first..then i wouldn't have to worry about dangling or left-over info
from the previous users laying about.