File | Directory | Description |
at.allow, at.deny | /etc | If at.allow exists, then only the user accounts listed in the file may use the at or batch commands. If at.denyexists, then any user account listed in the file may not use the at or batch commands. |
.bash_logout | /home/<user> | Shell script to clean up any personalized environment settings during logout. |
.bash_profile | /home/<user> | Shell script to set personalized environment settings for each login. |
.bashrc | /home/<user> | Shell script to set personalized functions and aliases for each newly created shell or subshell. |
bashrc | /etc | Shell script to set system-wide functions and aliases. Usually called by /home/<user>/.bashrc. |
cron.allow, cron.deny | /etc | If cron.allow exists, then only the user accounts listed in the file may use the crontab command. If cron.denyexists, then any user account listed in the file may not use the crontab command. |
crontab | /etc | Master cron scheduling file for system-wide jobs. On Red Hat systems, the crontab file uses the run-parts script to schedule any script in the appropriately-named/etc/cron.* directory. |
fstab | /etc | Filesystem declaration and default mount configuration settings. |
group | /etc | List of all user groups on the system and the user membership list for each group. |
grub.conf | /boot/grub | GRUB bootloader configuration settings. Usually linked to from /etc/grub.conf. |
inittab | /etc | init process configuration settings: virtual terminals, default runlevel, runlevel-dependent rc scripts, Ctrl+Alt+Del interrupt handler, X Windows display manager. |
lilo.conf | /etc | LILO bootloader configuration settings. |
login.defs | /etc | Default configuration settings for newly created user accounts and user groups. |
logrotate.conf | /etc | Configuration settings for the cron-scheduled logrotatejob. On Red Hat distributions, the logrotate.conf file usually includes other logrotate configuration files from the /etc/logrotate.d directory. |
lpd.conf | /etc | Configuration settings for the lpd print daemon, and defaults for the printcap file. |
module-info | /boot | Kernel Loadable Module definitions and device driver parameters. |
modules.conf | /etc | Configuration files for loading Kernel Loadable Modules during startup. Also known as conf.modules on some Linux distributions. |
passwd | /etc | List of all user accounts on the system. Also includes the user's UID, GID, full name, home directory, and default shell. Passwords tend to be stored in /etc/shadow on most systems. |
printcap | /etc | Configuration settings for print queues, used by both thelpr command and lpd daemon. Some distributions automatically regenerate this file during startup and use the /etc/printcap.local file to store user customizations. |
profile | /etc | Shell script to set system-wide shell environment settings for all logins. |
rc | /etc/rc.d | Shell script responsible for running the runlevel-dependent shell scripts under the appropriate /rc.d/rcN.ddirectory, where N is the runlevel. |
rc.local | /etc/rc.d | Last rc shell script run, usually as part of all startup runlevels (1-5). A common location for user-defined startup commands. |
rc.sysinit | /etc/rc.d | Runlevel-independent shell script that mounts filesystems, enables virtual memory swapping, and synchronizes the OS time with the CMOS clock. |
services | /etc | Reference list of common TCP and UDP port numbers and their related services. |
shadow | /etc | Encrypted passwords for all user accounts on the system. Also contains password aging and expiry settings. |
syslog.conf | /etc | Configuration settings for the syslogd and klogd logging daemons. |
useradd | /etc/default | Default configuration settings for newly created user accounts using the useradd command. |
XF86Config | /etc/X11 | Configuration settings for X Windows (XFree86). On some systems, this file may be in the /usr/X11R6/lib/X11directory. |
vmlinuz | /boot | Compressed Linux kernel image. Usually a symbolic link to the current image file. |
