How do I search server for all instances of a given database user?

Question

We just migrated one of our machines to a new box. Same web host, but new IP and physical machine.

I've found a lot of the databases are using a generic dbuser/pw combo. With the new server, I want to implement a more secure policy that all dbs need to have their own users, rather than a user that has global db privileges.

Is there a way to search all the servers' web docs (Everything below /var/www/vhosts/) for references to a specific db username in any files?

Is this a job for grep? Or is there a better solution?

Answer 1

Use grep to search for a string within a folder or files

$ grep username /var/www/vhosts/

Grep tutorial http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/howto-use-grep-command-in-linux-unix/

To search your mysql users run select * from mysql.user; or select User from mysql.user;

Answer 2

[If the code is duplicated on a network machine] I've used dreamweaver for similar searches (yes, I know) it does have a very effective code search tool and a handy interface.