Root or not to Root

[GnarlyDog]

Can anyone advise as to if when instaling new drivers, specifically the Nvidia ones, if you have to logon as Root, or will any user do ?
:confused:

Thanks All

GnarlyDog

[nuisance]

To install anything you have to be root.

[YaRness]

i've been under the understanding that most things you should try to install as a user first. something base like a video driver though will prollly need a root user to install it.

maybe someone else that knows more can answer better :confused:

[stepdad]

A general rule as logging in as root, don't. The only time I login as root is when I need to check the mail for root, a rare occurance indeed.

Other than that if I need the access of root I assume it's identity from a console shell, using the su command. Then when I've finished with my install and close my console, the access to root is gone as well.

It's a nice way to keep your system secure. But this precaution is more to keep me from forgetting that I've logged in as root and doing something stupid than it is to keep intruders out of my system.

Opinions vary on this one, but personally I say the less time you spend with root access the better.

Stepdad

[evulish]

Hmm...then I might want to stop my full access ftp I have running in my root account. :)

su is much better than logging in as root.

[bdg1983]

Originally posted by stepdad:
<STRONG>A general rule as logging in as root, don't. The only time I login as root is when I need to check the mail for root, a rare occurance indeed.
</STRONG>

Umm, you should forward mail for root to your user account.

Yes, the NVidia drivers will definitely need to be done as root, because, for one, they involve adding modules to the kernel, and you will have to edit your system wide X configuration file.

[Rob 'Feztaa' Park]

I have a question relating to root...

Because I will soon be running ftp and http servers on my machine, I set my system security to "high"

unfortunately, this prevented me from accessing anything outside of my home directory. It posed a problem when I attempted to read files from my CD rom drive (or floppy for that matter), as I don't have access to /mnt.

I tried to find some config somewhere that would let me access those directories, but found none. Instead, I added myself to the "root" and "adm" groups. Now I have access to most of the places that I want to go...

Here's my question: Is being in the root group any less dangerous than just logging in as root in the first place?

IE, is it better to be in the root group, or is it just as dangerous as logging in as root?

[GnarlyDog]

Thank you for your answers, I think that based on what I'm hearing I'll install the Nvidia drivers as root Considering that this is my third installation in as many weeks I think I'll log back in as a user right after the install.

Thanks Again !
Best Regards; GnarlyDog

:D

[greatunclebulgaria]

My mandrake 8 installation is lit up like a christmas tree, running the apache ftp and http servers, on LOW security and a non-functioning bastille. Thank god i havent managed to get online yet. Is it possible to change the security settings later?

[bdl]

Originally posted by Feztaa:
<STRONG>I have a question relating to root...


Here's my question: Is being in the root group any less dangerous than just logging in as root in the first place?

IE, is it better to be in the root group, or is it just as dangerous as logging in as root?</STRONG>

Personally I think adding yourself to a root or admin group is more dangerous than logging in as root. Why? Because if you know you're logged in as root, you will at least try to walk with caution through the filesystem. If you're just logged in as joeblow but have root permissions, you'll forget and wind up hosing your system or running something you wouldnt otherwise run as a root user, giving trojans full access to the system.

Never login as root. Don't add yourself to a root or admin group. Use 'sudo' when you need to run everyday commands like 'make install' or 'shutdown'. Use 'su' when you absolutely have to login as a root user to edit some files or admin the system in some manner.

And as someone else stated, always have the root mail delivered to a non-root user, preferably a login you are apt to use everyday, so root's mail is seen on a regular basis. You don't want to find out about a system break-in or some other malady a week later just because you neglected to check root's mail.

[Rob 'Feztaa' Park]

Interesting, but do I actually have root permissions? I mean, there's still plenty of stuff that says permission denied when I'm logged in as me.

so, instead of adding myself to root and adm, you're saying that I ought to su root every time I feel like reading files from my cd rom drive? bleh.

being in the root group allows me to list the files in the /bin directory, and run them, but it doesn't let me overwrite them.

[bdl]

Originally posted by Feztaa:
<STRONG>
so, instead of adding myself to root and adm, you're saying that I ought to su root every time I feel like reading files from my cd rom drive? bleh.

</STRONG>

No, Im not saying that. There are plenty of ways to get around your system without having to be logged in as root or compromise security. In the example you cite, edit your fstab in such a way that the mount points you plan to give access to 'you' can be mounted by 'you' and therefore you eliminate one more step. If you can mount a cdrom as a regular user, which IMHO is not a security threat, you dont have to login as, su into root or otherwise have special permissions in the filesystem.

As with most everything in life, if you want to do it, go ahead and do it. If you like to login as root, or add yourself to a admin or root group, do so. I'm just suggesting some guidelines.