Linux Creating Users and Groups

You are the system administrator for a company's marketing department. A new marketing intern, Sarah Lee, needs access to the company file server but shouldn't be able to modify critical marketing documents. What's the best approach?

• Create a user account for Sarah with full access to the file server.
• Create a user account for Sarah and assign her to a group with read-only permissions on the marketing documents.
• Don't create a user account and provide Sarah with guest access.
• Create a user account for Sarah and grant her sudo privileges.

Answer explanation

Providing read-only group permissions ensures Sarah can access files while preventing unauthorized modifications.

You're managing a web server and need to create separate user accounts for two developers, Alex and Ben. Alex will manage the web application's codebase, while Ben will be responsible for uploading static content. Which command would be most appropriate to create these accounts?

• useradd Alex Ben
• groupadd developers Alex Ben
• useradd -m -G developers Alex Ben
• passwd Alex Ben

Answer explanation

The useradd -m -G developers Alex Ben command creates user accounts with home directories and assigns them both to the "developers" group.

Your company uses a Linux server to manage customer data. To ensure data security, you decide to create a dedicated user account for a data processing script. This user account shouldn't have a shell access. Which option achieves this during account creation?

• Set the user's password to a blank string.
• Modify the user's primary group.
• Deselect the "Create home directory" option.
• Use the -s /sbin/nologin flag with the useradd command.

Answer explanation

The -s /sbin/nologin flag with useradd prevents login access for the user account.

A colleague needs temporary access to manage a specific directory on your Linux system. How can you grant them access without creating a full user account?

• Modify file permissions for the directory to grant read/write access for everyone.
• Add your colleague to the root group.
• Create a group with your colleague and assign ownership of the directory to that group.
• Add your colleague as a secondary group for your existing user account.

Answer explanation

Creating a group and assigning directory ownership allows controlled access without a full user account.

You're managing a team of network administrators. Each administrator needs access to manage network configurations but shouldn't be able to modify critical system files. What's the best course of action?

• Create a user account for each administrator with root privileges.
• Create a group for network administrators and grant them ownership of network configuration files.
• Create user accounts and assign them all to the "wheel" group.
• Create user accounts and assign them to a custom group with sudo access limited to network configuration commands.

Answer explanation

Granting sudo access with specific command permissions allows administrators to manage networks without full root privileges.

You suspect a user account on your system might be compromised. What's the first step to investigate?

• Reset the password for all user accounts.
• Immediately delete the suspicious user account.
• Change the root user password.
• Lock the suspicious user account and investigate further.

Answer explanation

Locking the account prevents further access while allowing investigation to determine the compromise.

While managing user accounts, you accidentally mistype the username during account creation. How can you fix this username error?

• Edit the /etc/ passwd file manually.
• There's no way to fix the username after creation. You'll need to delete and recreate the account.
• Use the usermod command to modify the username.
• Use the passwd command to reset the password.

Answer explanation

The usermod command allows modifying various user account attributes, including the username.

Your company is deploying a new application server that requires a dedicated user account. This user should only have access to the application's directory structure. Which guideline should you follow when setting up the application user account?

• Create the user account with root privileges.
• Assign the application user ownership of the entire system.
• Create the user account with a strong, unique password and restrict its home directory to the application directory.
• Configure the application to run under the root user account.

Answer explanation

Limiting the user's home directory and providing a strong password enhances security.

You're working on a development server where multiple developers collaborate on projects. How can you ensure each developer can access their project directories while maintaining individual ownership?

• Create a single group for all developers and grant them ownership of all project directories.
• Set uniform permissions on all project directories, allowing full access for everyone.
• Assign each developer a unique group and set ownership of their project directory to that group.
• Configure project directories with read-only access for everyone.

Answer explanation

Assigning individual group ownership ensures controlled access to each developer's project.

You identify an inactive user account on your Linux system. What's the recommended course of action?

• Leave the account untouched as it might be needed in the future.
• Immediately delete the inactive user account.
• Disable the inactive user account and review its activity logs.
• Change the password for the inactive user account.

Answer explanation

Disabling the account prevents unauthorized access while allowing investigation before deletion.