Which of the following values is associated with the Passwordless Guest Account on Ubuntu?

Which of the following values is associated with the Passwordless Guest Account on Ubuntu?

• U6aMy0wojraho
• [NULL]
• [NULL=guestsession]
• $1EgYb2Fn6I$2EgYv4xZTUtb2Fn6I 

EXPLANATION

The default user on the Ubuntu Live CD is configured to not require a password. By replacing the password value of your guest user with the one from the Ubuntu Live CD, users will be able to log in by leaving the password prompt blank.

To begin, create a new user to serve as your guest account. You will be required to enter a password. Enter anything you like, as you will be changing the password shortly. Be sure to revoke any privileges (such as Administering the system) that you do not want your guests to have.

Once the new account is created, open a terminal and enter the appropriate command for your version of Ubuntu:

Ubuntu

gksudo gedit /etc/shadow

Kubuntu

kdesu kate /etc/shadow

Xubuntu

gksudo mousepad /etc/shadow

You will be prompted to enter your password (not the one for the account you are creating). After that is complete, a text editor will display the contents of the /etc/shadow file. You will need to locate the line which contains information for your guest account. The line will appear similar to this:

guest:$1$2EgYb2Fn6I$2EgYv4xZTUtb2Fn6I$2E.gYdgo8dq9EgYv:13720:1:99999:7:::

Once you locate the line for your guest account, you need to replace the text between the second and third colons. Erase the current value, and enter the following in its place:

U6aMy0wojraho

If your line began like the above example, it would now look like this:

guest:U6aMy0wojraho:13720:1:99999:7:::

Save the file and exit from the text editor. Once this is complete, you will be able to log in to your guest account from the login screen. When you select the account, you will be prompted for a password, but will be allowed to log in if you leave the space blank.