{"id":68123,"date":"2021-02-03T15:27:52","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T20:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/?p=68123"},"modified":"2021-08-16T15:26:54","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T19:26:54","slug":"remove-a-linux-user","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inmotionhosting.com\/support\/product-guides\/cloud-server\/remove-a-linux-user\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Remove a Linux User"},"content":{"rendered":"

You need to know how to remove a Linux user you create on an operating system (OS): CentOS<\/a>, Debian<\/a>, Ubuntu<\/a>, etc. Hopefully, you\u2019re using other user management controls such as least privilege and \u201cneed to know\u201d already. Removing unneeded Linux users is an easy way to secure your cloud server<\/a> from unauthorized access when someone takes a mandatory vacation or is terminated from your organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below we\u2019ll cover how to remove a Linux user on CentOS, Debian, and Ubuntu.<\/p>\n\n\n

\r\n

If you don\u2019t need cPanel, don't pay for it. Only pay for what you need with our scalable Cloud VPS Hosting<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

\"checkCentOS, Debian, or Ubuntu \"checkNo Bloatware \"checkSSH and Root Access<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Remove a Linux User<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Htop<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
  1. Log into SSH<\/a> as root<\/a>.<\/li>
  2. Prevent the user from being able to login and start new processes: 
    sudo passwd --lock user1<\/pre>
    You may receive a notification stating \u201cpasswd: password expiry information changed.\u201d<\/li>
  3. Kill the user\u2019s processes with one of the following commands: 
    sudo pkill -KILL -u user1<\/pre>
    sudo killall -9 -u user1<\/pre><\/li>
  4. Ensure the user is no longer running any processes. You can use many process managers such as
    ps -aux<\/code>, top, or     htop<\/a>.<\/li>
  5. (Optional) You may benefit from archiving the user directory<\/a> before removing it. In other cases, it may be better to simply create a server snapshot<\/a> or full backup instead. You should also recommend the user to backup their own data from the server and to a PC backup solution<\/a> for their own safekeeping.<\/li>
  6. Check for cron jobs<\/a> maintained by the user: 
    sudo crontab -u user1 -l<\/pre><\/li>
  7. Remove the user\u2019s cron jobs: 
    sudo crontab -r -u user1<\/pre><\/li>
  8. Finally, remove the user\u2019s files on the system. The recommended command depends on your Linux distribution.
    CentOS and Arch (remove the CentOS user\u2019s home directory): 
    sudo userdel --remove user1<\/pre> 
    sudo userdel -r user1<\/pre>
    Remove the user account even if it\u2019s logged in and has processes running: 
    sudo userdel -f user1 <\/pre> 
    sudo userdel --force user1<\/pre>
    Debian: 
    sudo deluser --remove-home user1<\/pre><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    Learn more about server management with our Cloud Server Product Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
    You need to know how to remove a Linux user you create on an operating system (OS): CentOS, Debian, Ubuntu, etc. Hopefully, you\u2019re using other user management controls such as least privilege and \u201cneed to know\u201d already. Removing unneeded Linux users is an easy way to secure your cloud server from unauthorized access when someone Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57014,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4370],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cloud-server"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Remove a Linux User | InMotion Hosting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to remove a Linux user to protect your web server environment and organization from unauthorized and disgruntled users.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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