In addition to the files : /etc/group
, /etc/passwd
and /etc/shadow
, I could see three files in my linux machine.
/etc/group-
/etc/passwd-
/etc/shadow-
I cannot see these files in my root filesystem
. But when I try to add one user using useradd
command, these files seem to get generated.
So i would like to know when exactly is these files created and what is the use of these files?
These are backups of previous versions.
Manual pages show these files and states:
/etc/passwd-
Backup file for /etc/passwd.
/etc/shadow-
Backup file for /etc/shadow.
Note that this file is used by the tools of the shadow toolsuite, but not by all user and password management tools.
See http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/oneiric/man5/shadow.5.html and http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/oneiric/man5/passwd.5.html