'$' in hostname in /etc/passwd

[Joe Olt]

At 11:56 AM 2/2/2001, nrvale0 wrote:
>In regards to having a hostname entry in /etc/passwd for each host that
>will be connecting to the Samba PDC; what if it is just impossible to
>have the '$' in the hostname? Is there some work around?

I believe the work around is to hand edit the file.  Someone else on the 
list (I don't remember who), said you could remove the <computer>$ from the 
/etc/passwd file after you have added the computer to the smbpasswd 
file.  Which means, hand-edit the /etc/passwd file, use smbpasswd -a -m to 
add the computer to the smbpasswd file, then allow your management software 
to change it back.  I haven't tried it myself, but it might work.

>Our user management software checks usernames for special characters
>and will not allow a username/hostname with a '$'. In addition, if I were to
>hand edit /etc/passwd, the user management software will overwrite the
>exiting /etc/passwd periodically and I would thus lose my hand edits.
>
>Is the '$' only used so that someone cannot do a "net view \\hostname"
>on your PDC and get a list of workstation shares, or is it more
>complicated than that?

Windows adds the $ to its own name when authenticating.  I do not believe 
it is avoidable.