Where is Ubuntu, Unity or Cinnamon password program defined?

mfoley · 01-08-2016, 01:05 PM

I have a Ubuntu 15.10 system, the desktop is Cinnamon. This workstation is a member of an Active Directory domain and the users are domain users. Their login credentials are verified by the domain controller. That all works fine.

However, when users want to change their domain password they need to use a special program (wbinfo), not the usual `passwd` or whatever runs with the "Passwords and Keys" utility from the desktop.

In fact, I'm new at "GUIs" and I don't even know what desktop program to run to change a password normally (not for a domain user). I've tried using "Passwords and Keys", but that does not appear to change my local login.

So, 2 questions:

1. What is the desktop utility used to let a user change his/her password?

2. How can I change what this utility runs for a password change?

frankbell · 01-08-2016, 08:42 PM

wbinfo is part of Samba. It is used to change the password in a domain environment, rather than on the local machine.

This article should help: https://www.samba.org/samba/docs/man...n/winbind.html

If you want to change a local machine password, you would normally use passwd in a Linux environment, rather than some GUI program, though most desktop environments do provide a GUI interface for user administration.

Given that this is a domain environment, you should consult with the domain administrators before you try any such changes. Indeed, if this is a properly administered domain environment, you likely do not have the requisite permissions to do so unless you are an admin yourself.

mfoley · 01-09-2016, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankbell

wbinfo is part of Samba. It is used to change the password in a domain environment, rather than on the local machine.

This article should help: https://www.samba.org/samba/docs/man...n/winbind.html

Thanks. I already do have the whole "Integration of UNIX and Microsoft Windows NT through a unified logon ... in heterogeneous computing environments ..." and "... sharing files across UNIX systems and to be able to assign domain user and group ownerships with integrity." That's all done and works just fine. Any domain user can log onto any workstation, Unix or Windows, and get their redirected folder desktop on their workstations (I use autofs for this on Unix). I've made extensive use of the samba docs and maillist to accomplish this.

Quote:

If you want to change a local machine password, you would normally use passwd in a Linux environment, rather than some GUI program, though most desktop environments do provide a GUI interface for user administration.

Changing a local user password is not a problem. I did have to modify /etc/pam.d/common-passwords to set the minimum_uid to be greater than any local UID, but I can do it. I cannot, however, do it from a GUI. Do you know what GUI utility I would use for Cinnamon/Unity?

Quote:

Given that this is a domain environment, you should consult with the domain administrators before you try any such changes. Indeed, if this is a properly administered domain environment, you likely do not have the requisite permissions to do so unless you are an admin yourself.

I am the domain administrator, and I can change anyone's domain password. What I am looking for is a way for normal users to change their own domain passwords. I do not expect the secretary at the front desk to have to open a terminal window and run the passwd or wbinfo commands.

So, dealing with the first part of my question first, what is the GUI program a regular, non-Unix literate user uses to change his/her password? I can't seem to find it. As I said, I'm using the Cinnamon desktop.