If you’re a Linux admin, you probably take care of any number of servers, all of which contain numerous users. Those users log in via various means or protocols, such as SSH, FTP, HTTP. In order to successfully log in, those users have to have—passwords.

A single word that sends shivers through the spine of many an IT pro. You have to deal with users who create overly simple passwords, forget their passwords, or forget to change those passwords with any regularity.

It can get frustrating, especially if the operating system that powers so many of your servers is new to you (or to your staff). If that’s the case, you need to know how to manage user passwords. But how? What are the tools you need to use to make this task easier? And how can you create policies to ensure passwords are strong and regularly changed?

This article from TechRepublic Premium walks users through a few of these processes, so they can better manage user passwords on Linux servers (and even desktops).