Originally posted by Mictlantecuhtli
Why is it not very cool?
Maybe it's just me but I want to control my computers. Sure, /etc/fstab can be edited so that non-root users can mount filesystems, files & directories' permissions can be changed - but wouldn't that be the same as being root?
Honestly, I've never used su command.
Just curious, what kind of an user account do you have, other than root? What are you not allowed to do?
Its 2 am in the morning, at the end of a long evening's working with Linux and the terminal. I'm typing command after command, sipping that nearly cold cup of coffee by my side.... Suddenly I spy a few old files that I want to delete in /tmp. Ok:
rm -fr *
Only, OH NO! What's this..? I am not in the directory I thought I was. Ooops, I have just deleted the contents of /etc recursively. With so many terminal windows open, I have typed the command into the wrong one, where /etc was my pwd, thereby utterly ruining my finely polish, patched and fixed Linux installation. Now that's not funny.
"Ooops," is perhaps not the word I would be using. I would probably get a TOS from Uncleel for the
real word I am going to use.
What made this more likely to happen? Well, for a start, I was logging in as root all the time, habitually.
As we both know, UNIX has some VERY powerful commands, and if you are root, the operating system will just let you do them. Not matter how silly or stupid they might be.
In an iconic interface, I would have to be hallucinating to go into my /etc folder and drag the whole lot into the recycle bin. But on the command prompt, mistakes are more easily made of that nature, especially when you are doing something extremely complex or are tired, etc.
Now, I make extensive backups of ALL of my data, including images of all of the operating systems I have installed. But having to wait that 30 mins whilst by Red Hat Linux image is restored byte after byte because I typed something careless is not very good when I had planned to be spending that time posting to 3DS or playing a game on the net.
Furthermore, by running programs as root, you've disabled all the protections that make Linux less vulnerable to viruses than other operating systems. You opened the door for havok.
Running programs as a normal user limits their damage if they have intentional or unintentional security holes, in addition. And as I am sure that many here know, there are LOTS of programs with security holes, in Linux and in all operating systems.
I like to think of the root account as a "magic hat" that you only put on when you are ready to do some system maintenance or administration. Its different in other operating systems like Windows NT where logging on with admin rights or logging on without them is probably going to induce exactly the same level of damage in the event of something malicious.
I like to go on IRC a lot and I've heard of some unpleasant people doing all kinds of untold damage to the machines of others who had logged in as root. In my opinion its a fundamental axiom of UNIX security that certain accounts are not allowed to do certain things; why strip myself of that protection??
You asked what can't I do when I log in as a normal user. Well, apart from changing system configuration (installing software, editing system scripts, etc) pretty much nothing else. I had a bit of a problem writing CDs in Linux with a non-root account until I did some editing here and there.
Actually, I believe the title of one of the chapters I read in a very good UNIX book was "Why you should not log in as root."
But as I've said many times on the forums, different people have different ways of doing things, especially on the computer. If you are working one way and finding it good for you, then basically that's fine.
Incidently, I am pretty sure that you are not aware of this, but I thought that the tone of your post was mildly patronising. I am very sure that this was not what you intended, however I thought it was worth pointing out. No offence taken here, of course. After all, we're all friends here.
From a karma perspective, I find it on near enough the same level as someone accidentially bumping into me in the street and saying "sorry" and then walking on, so its completely nothing to worry about.
