star in password field

[Doug Gwyn <gwyn>]

> does anyone know what a * in the password field in /etc/passwd
> or /etc/group  means??

A "*" will not match any encrypted password, so it prevents password
access to that user/group.  This is useful when you need the account
for filing purposes (e.g. "bin" may own all system binaries) but
don't want anyone logging in and operating under that account.

By the way, an EMPTY field means "no password required".