Login accounts may be disabled by the system administrator.
Computer accounts are occasionally disabled on a system. With his account disabled, the user still has an entry in the passwd file, but he cannot log in.
There are several reasons why a login account may be disabled:
Some companies have a policy of disabling accounts as soon as an employee stops working there. A university may disable an account as soon as a student graduates. The main reason to do this is for security. It’s the same reason you ask ex-roommates to leave their keys behind when they move out.
Other, friendlier, companies don’t remove accounts when people quit, but they may disable a password if that person hasn’t logged in for a while (for example, if they haven’t used the account for a year).
Some system administrators disable accounts that have passwords that are easily guessed, such as words in the dictionary or names that are the same as the login name. They find these accounts by running special “cracking” software, which deliberately tries to guess passwords in order to pinpoint the ones that are easy targets.
Some companies ask users to change their passwords frequently (for example, every six months) and disable the accounts of users who don’t respond to the warnings.
Even the most tolerant companies will disable accounts of users who abuse their privileges.
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