$webwork.htmlEncode($page.space.name) : Cygwin
This page last changed on Aug 12, 2005 by mattlangston.
If you are a current or former UNIX or Linux user, then an installation of Cygwin on your Windows computer may be useful. I have found the Cygwin toolset useful in my work, and include some tips below on how I customized my installation
Modifying /etc/passwd and etc/group
I found that modifying /etc/passwd and /etc/group was useful for my tasks that involve the shell. We also use modified /etc/password and /etc/group files for our sshd Windows server. Here is a link to my /etc/passwd you can simply replace the entry for my username, langston, with the appropriate entry for your username.
/etc/passwd
Here is the contents of my modified /etc/passwd. A couple of points to note:
- the password field is never set, as Cygwin authenticates using the Win32 API
- I renamed many of the usernames to something more suggestive (i.e. root instead of Administrator}
- The 5th field is a comma separated list, and the last value in this list must be the actual Windows Security Identifier (also known as a SID). A SID is the equivalent of a UNIX username, but is guaranteed to be unique within a Domain.
- I set the home directory of many entries to /var/empty and the default shell to /bin/false, as I didn't want these accounts to be able to use Cygwin services - this is simply a security precaution.
windows:*:18:18:Operating System,S-1-5-18:/var/empty:/bin/false root:*:0:0:Administrators Group,S-1-5-32-544:/var/empty:/bin/false root::500:0:U-TRINITY\Administrator,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-500:/home/root:/bin/bash asp_net::1006:513:ASP.NET Machine Account,U-TRINITY\ASPNET,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-1006:/var/empty:/bin/false guest::501:546:U-TRINITY\Guest,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-501:/var/empty:/bin/false remote_help::1004:513:Remote Desktop Help Assistant Account,U-TRINITY\HelpAssistant,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-1004:/var/empty:/bin/false iis_guest::1009:513:Internet Guest Account,U-TRINITY\IUSR_TRINITY,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-1009:/var/empty:/bin/false iis_proc::1010:513:Launch IIS Process Account,U-TRINITY\IWAM_TRINITY,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-1010:/var/empty:/bin/false langston::1005:547:U-TRINITY\langston,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-1005:/home/langston:/bin/bash scs::1007:513:pearl,U-TRINITY\pearl,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-1007:/var/empty:/bin/false sql_debug::1014:513:SQLDebugger,U-TRINITY\SQLDebugger,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-1014:/var/empty:/bin/false msft::1002:513:CN=Microsoft Corporation,L=Redmond,S=Washington,C=US,U-TRINITY\SUPPORT_388945a0,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-1002:/var/empty:/bin/false dell::1003:513:CN=Dell Computer Corporation,L=Round Rock,S=Texas,C=US,U-TRINITY\SUPPORT_3f151ab9,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-1003:/var/empty:/bin/false vsa::1013:513:VSA Server Account,U-TRINITY\VUSR_TRINITY,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-1013:/var/empty:/bin/false sshd::1016:513:sshd privsep,U-TRINITY\sshd,S-1-5-21-1134342290-3529262755-510443318-1016:/var/empty:/bin/false
