How to Change Linux Password? [CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu]

Once you order your Linux VPS (Virtual Private Server), the service provider provides you with the login details. However, it’s recommended to change the password once you get your VPS!

 This is due to security reasons. One is that the service provider will know your VPS password and the second being that the email you get with your VPS details contains the password in plain text. If someone gains access to this email they will know the password to access your VPS.

So let’s get to it!

Note that the following tutorial was created by using Centos 6.9. However, the steps are similar in other Linux distributions.

Before we change the password, this is how to connect to your Linux VPS. Here we are using an SSH client to connect to our VPS. Download an SSH client we are using Putty for this tutorial.

What you will need before:

1. The IP address of your VPS
2. Username and password

How to change Linux password [CentLOS, Debian, Ubuntu]

• Open Putty and enter the Host Name or IP address of your VPS. (you can keep the other fields as default)

• Enter the login credentials.

Login as: this is the place where you should write your username

root@*IP address of the VPS*’s password: Enter the VPS password here

Note that when you enter the password it will not show any characters. This is a security measure. Simply type in the password and press enter!

• Type in ‘passwd’ and press enter
• Now you can enter the new password. It will not be displayed as you type (this is a security measure).

Congratulations! You have successfully changed your password on your Linux VPS! Let us know in the comments below what you would like to know next.

Also, you can check this video for Change Linux password.