Creating a master password in the command line?

[Kenshi]

I posted a question about a password problem in the other forum, but someone mentioned that it may be something to do with the command line?

A while back I had mentioned that I had problems with people getting onto my computer and screwing around with it. So I password protected it at startup. Well, our techguy was in last night, and somehow bypassed it, so that now you can not only use my password to get on it, but my boss has his own password as well.

Given that my boss is one of the most dishonest, untrustworthy people out there, he was the reason I put the password on in the first place.

How the heck do I get rid of that other password?

I've already gone into system preferences>accounts but I have found no trace of the other password, just mine. I've also looked in "security", and nothing there either!!!

So could this mean that the password was set in the command line?

 

[Viro]

Look in Accounts>Security. See if the master password has been set. If it has, that means that anyone who has the master password can see your files. You could try disabling the master password and turning on FileVault.

You could also go into Applications>Utilities>NetInfo Manager and from the menubar, choose Security>Enable Root User. This will enable the root user and you can set the root password (do it before someone else does). Keep the password safe.

 

[Kenshi]

Yeah, I've tried all of that. I've even tried booting from the OS disk and changing the password from the boot window. No luck.

Someone has said it could be a "unix hack"...any ideas?

 

[symphonix]

Kenshi, having read this post and the other one, I'd be suspecting that your boss and/or tech guy have simply watched you enter your password, or guessed it somehow.
I'd suggest you start by "toughening" your password. Set a completely new one, using at least 8 characters including a numeral. Don't use birthdays, wife's name, favourite sports team or anything that anyone can guess. Ensure you don't share it with anyone, write it anywhere, or allow anyone to see you type it.

The next step is to go into Applications/Utilities and fire up Netinfo Manager.
Under "Users" you should find the following:
Your own account (shortname), daemon, mysql, nobody, root, smmsp, sshd, unknown, www.
If there are any others there, let us know.

Finally, make sure you hold the keys to root, by setting the root password. Then, make sure you setup the logon options to show a list of users rather than logon fields.