preferences - I don't get it

[Michal Jaegermann]

On Thu, Feb 03, 2005 at 11:42:04AM +0100, Harald Hoyer wrote:
> Michal Jaegermann wrote:
> > And the fact that it even works for a non-root and
> > without any password got me floored.
> 
> You may have input your root password before, so /usr/sbin/userhelper 
> remembers it for a certain time.

Hm, that "certain time" would have to be some weeks.   How long is
that memory in 'userhelper'?  Seems to be way too long.  In any case
if I tried at that time to check this possibility and activated
printing configuration from "Other" submenu I was promptly asked for
a root password.  So in this case it looks that it was already
forgotten.  In case you wonder I hit "Cancel" instead of giving
a password.

I wonder if "remembering" a root password anywhere even for a few
minutes is worth possible screwups and aggravations.  If you cannot
type it then you obviously do not have a business messing around
with system settings.  Looks to me like a huge security hole.

This is a "rawhide, hack-and-scratch" installation and I mostly
torture it from a root account.  Non-root logins exist only for test
purposes. :-)

   Michal