Ubuntu systems are secure compared to other platforms like Windows, but a system’s security is ultimately dependent on the user, starting with fundamentals like the user’s password.
If you’re still using an easy-to-guess password, it’s high time you changed it to something secure. Ubuntu lets you do this easily using tools like passwd or from User Settings. Do note that you’ll need admin privileges to change the password of other users.
Change User Password with passwd
The passwd command is used to perform password-related actions like changing the password or its validity period.
To change the current user’s password, you can simply use passwd like so
passwdYou can change another user’s password by specifying their username and using sudo.
sudo passwd anupThe expire option is useful when you want to let the user set the password at their next login.
sudo passwd -e anupChange via User Settings
You can also change your password from the Settings app if you prefer sticking to the GUI.
- Search and open ‘Users’ from the Activities overview.
- To change the current user’s password, click on Password from the Authentication & Login section.
- Enter the current password, set the new one, and click on Change.
- To change another user’s password, click on Unlock first. You’ll need to enter a sudo user account’s password for authentication.
- Now, you can change the password of other users as done in Steps 2-3. You can also let the user change the password on the next login if you want.
