Setting a Root Password

Figure 8-29 prompts you to set a root password for your system. You'll use the root password to log into your Red Hat Linux system to perform system administration functions.

Figure 8-29. Root Password

The root password must be at least six characters long; the password you type is not echoed to the screen. You must enter the password twice; if the two passwords do not match, the installation program will ask you to enter them again.

You should make the root password something you can remember, but not something that is easy for someone else to guess. Your name, your phone number, qwerty, password, root, 123456, and anteater are all examples of poor passwords. Good passwords mix numerals with upper and lower case letters and do not contain dictionary words: Aard387vark or 420BMttNT, for example. Remember that the password is case-sensitive. Write down this password and keep it in a secure place.