Torvalds:requiring root password for mundane things is moronic

[Alexander Boström]

ons 2012-02-29 klockan 17:51 -0500 skrev Simo Sorce:

> That said I understand your pain and the realize the current solution is
> not ideal for the casual user. Maybe we should have 2 security profiles
> (lax and strict) that you can choose at install time so that people can
> choose what they like best.

I'd call them "single user" and "multi user".

On a single user machine is makes sense to try to protect the user from
themself, but you do that by carefully selecting defaults and explaining
what the issues are with connecting to a non-trusted network, for
example. No by asking for a password at random points.

On a multi user machine it makes sense to protect users from each other
and prevent one user from doing things that may cause problems for other
users, like modifying the IP routing or the host-wide printer config.
You really need an extra password or a dedicated admin account to
elevate to, then.

/Alexander