NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | OPTIONS | AUTHOR | COLOPHON

VLOCK(1)                   General Commands Manual                  VLOCK(1)

NAME         top

       vlock - Virtual Console lock program

SYNOPSIS         top

       vlock
       vlock [ -a,--all ] [ -c,--current ] [ -h,--help ] [ -v,--version ]

DESCRIPTION         top

       vlock is a program to lock one or more sessions on the Linux console.
       This is especially useful for Linux machines which have multiple
       users with access to the console.  One user may lock his or her
       session(s) while still allowing other users to use the system on
       other virtual consoles.  If desired, the entire console may be locked
       and virtual console switching disabled.
       By default, only the current VC (virtual console) is locked.  With
       the -a,-all option all VCs are locked.  The locked VCs cannot be
       unlocked without the invoker's password.  And, for the paranoid,
       vlock makes it a trying experience for those attempting to guess the
       password, so unauthorized access to session(s) is highly unlikely.
       Please note that it is entirely possible to completely lock yourself
       out of the console with the -a,--all option if you cannot remember
       your password!  Unless you are able to kill vlock by logging in
       remotely via a serial terminal or network, a hard reset is the only
       method of ``unlocking'' the display.
       vlock works for console sessions primarily.  However, there is
       support for trying to lock non-console sessions as well, but that
       support has not been well tested.

OPTIONS         top

       -a,--all
              Lock all console sessions and disable VC switching.
       -c,--current
              Lock the current session (this is the default).
       -h,--help
              Print a brief help message.
       -v,--version
              Print the version number of vlock.

AUTHOR         top

       Michael K. Johnson <johnsonm@redhat.com>

COLOPHON         top

       This page is part of the kbd (Linux keyboard tools) project.
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Linux User's Manual              16 May 1996                        VLOCK(1)