ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Vipw

Vipw is like a magic book that lets grown-ups change the names and passwords of people who use a computer. Just like when you play pretend and you have a notebook where you write down your friends' names and what games they like to play, vipw is a notebook that grown-ups use to write down who can use the computer and what secret words they need to say to get in.

When a grown-up needs to add or remove someone from this notebook (because maybe someone new wants to play with your toys or an old friend has moved away), they open up vipw and make the change. But they have to be very careful when they do this, because if they make a mistake, the computer might not work right anymore!

So, just like how you have to be careful not to rip a page out of your notebook or cross out someone's name by accident, grown-ups have to make sure they only change the right things in vipw and don't mess up anything else. It's important to keep the notebook neat and organized so that everyone knows who can use the computer and how to get in.