CHPASSWD(8)		  System Management Commands		   CHPASSWD(8)



NAME
       chpasswd - update passwords in batch mode

SYNOPSIS
       chpasswd [options]

DESCRIPTION
       chpasswd reads a list of user name and password pairs from standard
       input and uses this information to update a group of existing users.
       Each line is of the format:


       user_name:password

       By default the supplied password must be in clear-text. Default
       encryption algorithm is DES. Also the password age will be updated, if
       present.

       This command is intended to be used in a large system environment where
       many accounts are created at a single time.

OPTIONS
       The options which apply to the chpasswd command are:

       -e, --encrypted
	  Supplied passwords are in encrypted form.

       -h, --help
	  Display help message and exit.

       -m, --md5
	  Use MD5 encryption instead of DES when the supplied passwords are
	  not encrypted.

CAVEATS
       Remember to set permissions or umask to prevent readability of
       unencrypted files by other users.

SEE ALSO
       passwd(1), newusers(8), useradd(8).



System Management Commands	  02/25/2007			   CHPASSWD(8)