4.1. Introduction to UNIX Users and Groups
On Linux and other UNIX operating systems, a user is a person who can login to the system via SSH, telnet, FTP or at the console. Users can also receive email and own files on the server's local filesystems. Each user has a login name, a password, and a home directory in which all its files are stored. Users also have several additional attributes, such as a real name, shell (the program that is run when the user logs in), and expiry date.
Each user is a member of at least one group, called a primary group. In addition, a user can be a member of an unlimited number of secondary groups. Group membership can be used to control the files that a user can read and edit. For example, if two users are working ...
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