log in through root

[bruce]

hey...

as a guy who's been running different variants of unix/sun/vax vma for
~25 years... you can run as root/user with equal ability to screw up
if you don't know what you're doing! running as a user implies that
you can't do certain things/apps on a system.. but who's to say that
someone didn't open up the system to allow users to run thoses
"dangerous" apps as a user!

bottom line, people should know what the heck they're doing when they
start to play on the system..

as to your issues with windows... what kind of virus system/apps are
you running to prevent viruses from being able to be downloaded on the
box???

if you have "good" anti-virus apps running, and they're updated on a
frequent basis.. the system should be ok, unless she's going to sites
that are probably good breeding grounds for getting infected. in which
case, you should tell her to stay the hell away from those sites...

peace..


On Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 9:54 AM, Rick Sewill <rsewill at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 03/28/2010 03:29 AM, Rajanish Kumar wrote:
>> Hi!
>>  I have already installed Fedora 12 .I have given root password...and
>> finally added a user name "rajanish"
>> .I am log in through "rajanish"but i have not accessing throgh root...I
>> want to log in through root because i want to learn administrative property.
>>  please help me to guide log in through root..
>>
>> Rajanish Kumar
>> Fedora User
>>
>
> Others will answer how to log in through root.
>
> I would express a different concern.
>
> Please forgive me if this sounds like a rant.
> I don't wish it to be such.  The following is what I believe.
>
> Linux has a different mindset from Windows.
>
> I think of Windows as being single-user focused.
> One user, at a time, does things on Windows.
> That user, is, for all intents and purposes, "god" on the PC.
> That user, invariably, runs with administrator privileges.
>
> I realize I am being unfair to Windows.
> One can have multiple Windows users "active" at the same time.
> One can leave one user active and log in as another user.
>
> Windows users can be restricted from administrator privileges.
>
> Windows users are coerced into running with administrator privileges.
> Windows users run programs that try to do upgrades automatically.
> Windows users visit websites that try to do installs immediately.
>
> Linux is multi-user.  People are expected to run as normal users.
> People should be root only long enough to do system things.
>
> Program developers create downloads with this in mind.
> People can download and compile and build programs as normal users.
> Only when people need to install, do people need to become root.
>
> For most things, people should run as a "normal" user.
> When I see a person running normal programs, as root, I shudder.
>
> People have arguments, which is more secure, Windows or Linux.
> I believe it is not the operating system that is secure or insecure.
> I believe it is the way people use the operating system.
>
> I believe one can take an insecure Windows operating system and make it
> secure.  One can argue, it will also be annoying to use, or unusable,
> but that is another discussion.
>
> I believe one can take a secure Linux operating system and make it insecure.
>
> What am I trying to say?
>
> Please be very, very careful what you do as root.
> You can make a terrible mess if you don't know what you are doing.
>
> This is the end of my rant...wishing it didn't sound like a rant.
>
> To help this person and me and others, can someone suggest some
> reasonable websites that explain how to keep Linux secure and how to be
> a Linux administrator for beginners?
>
> What I found, when searching the Internet, was rather dated.
>
> I'm not looking for information on selinux or the intricacies of iptables.
>
> I'd rather find a tutorial saying things like...
> only run services (chkconfig service ...) you need,
> only open firewall ports (iptables ...) you really want opened,
> only install software from sources you trust,
> don't run user programs or games as root,
> get a USB drive for backups and how to do backups,
> etc.
>
> I have a personal reason for asking for this information.
>
> My sister keeps bringing her Windows XP PC to me for fixing.
> It takes her less than a week to get viruses on her PC.
> I've reloaded from the factory partition twice already.
>
> The second time, she got viruses, really frustrated me.
> Before giving her back her PC, I made sure all the patches were in.
> I had Norton Utilities running with all updates.
> I made sure her firewall was enabled.
> Did me little good.
>
> Her PC currently has some viruses on it (this is the third time).
> Again, I made sure all patches were in and all updates were in.
>
> Norton Utilities can detect the viruses, but not remove them.
>
> I told her I wanted to install Linux on her PC.
> She is bucking.  She knows how to find notepad.
> She wants to be able to run a "Creative Memories" program.
> She has both Internet Explorer and firefox (I tried to get her to use
> firefox) set to go to her favorite website, as her home page.
>
> I only find out she has a problem when she can't do her usual routine.
> The first two times, I found out, because the malware was demanding
> money and wouldn't let her do anything with her PC.
>
> This last time, I found out, because, when she clicked the web browser
> icon, it went to the wrong web page, not her home page.
>
> Even if I force her to switch to Linux, I will have problems.
> She will fuss and fuss until I give her the root password.
> I won't want to give her the root password...for obvious reasons.
> She will take a "secure" Linux system and make it vulnerable.
> She won't know what she is doing.
>
> You may think I'm being unfair to her...and I am.
> She is not computer literate.  She is literate in other things.
> She calls her PC her brain because someone explained the PC was the
> brain.  She doesn't know what a hard disk is...she doesn't know the
> difference between program and data...she doesn't know how to find
> things unless those things are icons on the desktop...she needs help
> configuring her printer and ethernet.  Once configured, she is happy.
>
> As I say, I am being unfair to her...there are many things she knows
> that I don't know and don't wish to know...but she is not computer
> literate.  For this discussion, that is what matters.
>
> I was looking for the history of Linux and found an interesting URL from
> http://www.youtube.com/user/ComputerHistory
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVTWCPoUt8w
> This is the first time I saw an image of Linus Torvalds.
>
> If people could find tutorials on how to be an administrator for Linux,
> written for people who are not very computer literate, I would be
> appreciative.
>
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