 <p>You can edit <code>/etc/issue</code> file as root and append to it the message you want to be displayed without the user needing to login</p> <p>Related article:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/blfs/view/svn/postlfs/logon.html" rel="nofollow">Customizing your Logon with /etc/issue</a></li> </ul>