how is gshadow- different than gshadow file? No reference in man page
 

I wanted to double check default permissions on my /etc/gshadow file. When i ls -l | grep gshadow it gives me two listings.

----------. 1 root root 563 Jan 2 17:19 gshadow
-rw-------. 1 root root 563 Jan 2 17:19 gshadow-

What is the difference between the two files? I have done due diligence googling but am finding nothing. Why would one be set to 000 and the other 600?

I'm not questioning the contents. I can see those. I want to know why there are two files. I can read the purpose of gshadow in the man page but why is there a gshadow- file. No documentation i find says anything about a gshadow- file. There are also similar corresponding "-" files for the group, passwd, and shadow file.

vi makes those when you edit with that editor.
I think in .vimrc will disable it.

Hmm. The gshadow- file is there when i first install the OS before i edit or open it. That is what i was originally thinking though. Sort of similiar to when you open a file in windows it creates file~ temporarily. Difference is gshadow- never goes away. Still don't think i have a definite answer.

What OS is that?

Your /etc/gshadow file has no permissions enabled. The /etc/gshadow- files seems to be a working replacement. Maybe for a PAM module that adds audit info, or failtoban,,etc.

If your distro uses RPM, try "rpm -qf /etc/gshadow-" to see what package installed it. Also try using lsof to see if any program has it open.

I found the answer to this out myself and figured i'd post it. Anytime you edit with gedit it saves an additional file of your pre-edited file.