Question 520
A technician needs to inspect account names, UID values and login shells without expecting actual password hashes in that file. One student proposes Read the appropriate entries from /etc/passwd and another proposes Run id. Which technical comparison is the soundest?
Explanation
Correct Answer
Correct distinction: Read the appropriate entries from /etc/passwd targets account identity database; The passwd database lists account metadata and normally stores placeholder markers for passwords. The compared alternative instead serves effective user group IDs.
Incorrect Answers
Incorrect mapping: Run id is used for effective user group IDs. It does not displace Read the appropriate entries from /etc/passwd for the described requirement.
The mechanisms are different: The passwd database lists account metadata and normally stores placeholder markers for passwords. By contrast, id reports a user's identity numbers and associated group memberships. They are not universally interchangeable.
The third option addresses run one privileged command: sudo executes a permitted command with delegated privileges under the system's sudo policy. The original action remains relevant because The passwd database lists account metadata and normally stores placeholder markers for passwords.