ReadyNAS 314 - disabled user "sync"

[debumitra]

On my ReadyNAS 314, in the list of users, I find a user named "sync". It is inthe admin group with uid = 4. It shows up as disabled. I don't remember creating any such account.

Please help me understand what this account is about and how it might have come to be.

Also, could I delete it without causing problems?

[leo037]

In theory yes since its already disable it shouldn't be doing anything. 

[debumitra]

Thank you. But any idea how it came to be? It's an account with very low UID. So I couldn't have created it myself. I am curious.

[leo037]

not without going through the log files 

[StephenB]

It's on my systems too, so it is a default account (created by Netgear).

So I wouldn't touch it.

[Sandshark]

There are a number of default users with UID's below 100 that you should not mess with.  Users you add start with UID 100.

If you want to see the list, it's in the exported configuration file.

[debumitra]

Thank you all for your replies. I understand that sync (UID=4) is one of the system accounts and, yes, it shows up in the '/etc/passwd' file in the configuration backup.

Just to be sure, I checked my other ReadyNAS, an RN42400. The 'sync' account does not show up on the admin page under "Accounts->Users" there. But it is there in the '/etc/passwd' file.

So here it is:

Case 1: RN31400, 'sync' account shows up on the admin page under "Accounts->Users" as disabled and also in '/etc/passwd'

Case 2: RN42400, 'sync' account does not show up on the admin page under "Accounts->Users" but is there in '/etc/passwd'

So why the discrepancy? What's making it appear on the RN31400?

Thanks again.

[StephenB]

---

@debumitra wrote:

What's making it appear on the RN31400?

---

That I don't know - it doesn't appear on any of my ReadyNAS.