As you notice from day to day use of Ubuntu, most tasks are easily accomplished. But what happens when you’re ready to expand your use of Ubuntu to include new applications, or connect to a home network and add new users? This brief guide shares the key steps necessary to create and manage other users, helps clarify some essential differences with other flavors, and provides tips regarding “root” user. Perhaps most importantly, these steps help empower the use of your Ubuntu system to become far more than just another desktop PC.

Understanding users in Ubuntu

The security and usefulness of your Ubuntu system depends a good deal on what you do to enable users and their privileges. Without falling into the minutia and the mundane, it is important to at least understand how users are handled in the Ubuntu GNU/Linux environment.

When you first install Ubuntu, you are required to create a user account. This initial user account, and for that matter all subsequent users, have their independent user files stored under the Home folder. But there is something unique about the first user account you create.

In my case, when installing Ubuntu, I created the user account: “mark”. Not only is mark my first Ubuntu user, but mark has automatically been given unique and powerful privileges that other users do not receive. My mark account can create users, change files and folders, and do a lot of administrative functions on Ubuntu that are normally performed by another important user account named “root”.

Therefore, in Ubuntu, you should understand the three key users:

• Initial user, in my case called mark, created when installing Ubuntu
• Root user, known as the administrator that usually has maximum privileges
• All other users, which I term basic users, are added following installation

Each of these three key users have their own folders, their own unique privileges, and most importantly their own role to play on your Ubuntu system. In the following sections, I will share how to enable and utilize each. Let’s begin with the basic user.

NOTE: I assume that you are logged in to your Ubuntu system as the initial user, thereby having the rights and privileges necessary to perform the tasks below.

Creating and managing basic users

Inevitably, once you setup Ubuntu in your home or office, others will come to you begging to get access. Some may want a chance to try out one of the multitude of cool applications that come preloaded with your system, while others desire to see GNU/Linux power! In other words, you need a good way to give them access without giving them the keys to the system.

Step 1. Accessing the users and groups tool

Creating basic user accounts is easily accomplished through the Users and Groups tool. From your main menu, choose System, then Administration. To start your tool select the Users and Groups menu item.

Notice the message that appears (figure 1).

Figure 1: Using the privileged user account

This is a very important message and what it infers is something unique about Ubuntu. In most GNU/Linux systems the privileged user is named root, and the password you type in would be that of root. However, in Ubuntu, the privileged user is the initial user account you created, and therefore you must type that user account password.

Once you type the password in, you will have access to all of the various administration tools. I provide more details regarding the reasons for this in the “Understanding the Superuser” section below.

Step 2. Adding a new user

You should now see the Users and Groups tool. Please choose the Add User button on the right.

What you choose to include in the Account sections should be based on who you’re adding, and what you plan to do with your Ubuntu system. If you’re adding a basic user so someone else can also access your Ubuntu system, the defaults will be satisfactory.

For an example, I will add my son John as a basic user of my Ubuntu system so he can enjoy some of those cool GNU/Linux games. Below is the sample user information. Notice that I chose to manually set the password, since I prefer to give him something that is both secure and easily remembered (figure 2).

Figure 2: Adding a new user with basic rights

Before you press the OK button, please click on the “User privileges” tab at the top. This is an important step whenever you create a new user.

Under the “User privileges” tab, note the default access given to this basic user. You may prefer to change some of these, such as “Monitor system logs”, “and Connect to Internet”. Anything that is checked is allowed by this user. Also make sure that the “Executing system administration tasks” is NOT checked.

Once you are satisfied with the privileges granted to this new user, press the OK button.

You should return to the main Users and Groups tool window. Now scroll down until you see the new user you just added. In my example, I added user: john (figure 3).

Figure 3: Successfully added new user

Once you are finished adding new basic users, it is very important to press the OK button again.

This will create the account and save the information you added. Ubuntu should also automatically create your new user’s folder under the Home directory.

Once finished, your new user will be able to login and enjoy the power of Ubuntu GNU/Linux!

If for some reason the login fails, please refer to the troubleshooting tips at the end of this article.

Step 3. Making future changes to users

Notice that if you wish, you can now go back and change the properties of this user by highlighting the user name and pressing the Properties button. Or, if this user is no longer needed or wanted in the future, you can highlight the name and press the Delete button.

If you ever decide to delete a basic user, realize that the folder and files from the user are not automatically removed, only the user’s login access is removed. This is greatly advantageous since it allows you to restore a previously deleted user without losing files.

In order to totally remove even the user’s folder, you will need to apply a super-user command. This is a step that is unlikely to be necessary for beginning Ubuntu, but that I explain briefly in the “Understanding the Superuser” section.