I made a clean install of High Sierra and created a login password. Because I had to shutdown and restart several times I omitted the login password, which was more convenient. Now I have to create several symbolic links and need the Terminal command 'sudo ln -s <from> <to destination >....', but Terminal refuses to execute and asks for a password.
I am logged in as administrator, so what is going wrong?
Thanks in advance
Hans
The admin account should still have a password, even if you opted to omit the password on login.
Therefore, when you sudo... you'll be prompted for the password which you should type blind - i.e you won't see it echoed back on the screen, but it will still be processed and allow the command to execute (assuming you enter the password correctly).
The login password option means you don't need to enter the password to log into the system (generally a bad idea, especially for an admin account), but it doesn't mean that it automatically enters the password everywhere the system requires one.
When you enter the password on the command line are you pressing the "Return" key afterwards to submit the password?
There is no other admin acount, I am the only user.
You're just kidding, right?
Thanks for your input. I will test your option later on, because of more serious "work". On another iMac, of course😁.
Please don't be insulted if we mention something you already know, we're just trying to cover all bases.
Ok. I think I understand what you mean. But all the risks what could happen and bad ideas aside: it still is my system and responsibility to do with it as I want.
Absolutely it's your responsibility, but the very fact that you're here means that you use the internet, and you're leaving a gaping hole in your system security since no password allows the possibility of malicious content bypassing Apple's security models (not entirely, but you're certainly lowering the bar).
One of the reasons why Mac OS X beat Windows on security and malware issues is that it's been much, much harder for an hacker to install malware without interaction by the user - on Windows it was pretty trivial (just visiting a web site was sometimes enough). The password gate adds a layer that causes the user to pause and think about what they're doing. With no password you lose that protection.
But as your said, it's your horse...
As for changing the password - System Preferences -> Users & Groups -> [account] -> Change Password
How to reset the password Terminal wants?
