authconfig is a command-line utility in Linux that is used to configure the system’s authentication and user account settings. It is typically used to manage the settings and policies related to how users authenticate to the system, such as by using a password, a smart card, or a biometric factor.
authconfig can be used to enable or disable various authentication methods, such as local password authentication, LDAP authentication, or Kerberos authentication. It can also be used to set the default authentication policies for the system, such as the minimum password length or the number of failed login attempts before the account is locked.
To use authconfig, you will need to have administrative privileges on the system. You can run authconfig with various command-line options to specify the authentication settings you want to configure. For example, to enable local password authentication and set the minimum password length to 8 characters, you could use the following command:
authconfig --enablelocal --passminlen=8 --update
For more information on using authconfig, you can consult the authconfig documentation or use the authconfig –help command to view a list of available options and usage examples.
authconfig Command Examples
1. Display the current configuration (or dry run):
# authconfig --test
2. Configure the server to use a different password hashing algorithm:
# authconfig --update --passalgo=algorithm
3. Enable LDAP authentication:
# authconfig --update --enableldapauth
4. Disable LDAP authentication:
# authconfig --update --disableldapauth
5. Enable Network Information Service (NIS):
# authconfig --update --enablenis
6. Enable Kerberos:
# authconfig --update --enablekrb5
7. Enable Winbind (Active Directory) authentication:
# authconfig --update --enablewinbindauth
8. Enable local authorization:
# authconfig --update --enablelocauthorize