6.6. Implementation Differences

We’ve already discussed the shadow password file supported by Linux and Solaris. FreeBSD and Mac OS X store encrypted passwords differently. Figure 6.5 summarizes how the four platforms covered in this book store user and group information.

Figure 6.5. Account implementation differences

Information	FreeBSD 5.2.1	Linux 2.4.22	Mac OS X 10.3	Solaris 9
Account information	/etc/passwd	/etc/passwd	netinfo	/etc/passwd
Encrypted passwords	/etc/master.passwd	/etc/shadow	netinfo	/etc/shadow
Hashed password files?	yes	no	no	no
Group information	/etc/group	/etc/group	netinfo	/etc/group