MAN page from Old RedHat 5.X vlock-1.2-2.i386.rpm

VLOCK

Section: User Commands (1)
Updated: 16 May 1996
Index

NAME

vlock - Virtual Console lock program

SYNOPSIS

vlock

vlock [ -a,--all ] [ -c,--current ] [ -h,--help ] [ -v,--version ]

DESCRIPTION

vlockis a program to lock one or more sessions on the Linux console. This isespecially useful for Linux machines which have multiple users with accessto the console. One user may lock his or her session(s) while still allowingother users to use the system on other virtual consoles. If desired, theentire console may be locked and virtual console switching disabled.

By default, only the current VC (virtual console) is locked. With the-a,-all option all VCs are locked. The locked VCs cannot be unlockedwithout the invoker's password or the root password. The root password willalways be able to unlock any or all sessions. And, for the paranoid,vlock makes it a trying experience for those attempting to guess thepassword, so unauthorized access to session(s) is highly unlikely.

Please note that it is entirely possible to completely lock yourself out ofthe console with the -a,--all option if you cannot remember yourpassword! Unless you are able to kill vlock by logging in remotely via aserial terminal or network, a hard reset is the only method of ``unlocking''the display.

vlock works for console sessions primarily. However, there issupport for trying to lock non-console sessions as well, but thatsupport has not been well tested.

OPTIONS

-a,--all

: Lock all console sessions and disable VC switching.

-c,--current

: Lock the current session (this is the default).

-h,--help

: Print a brief help message.

-v,--version

: Print the version number of vlock.

AUTHOR

Michael K. Johnson <johnsonmAATTredhat.com>

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