Yeah, but sudo *is* for running things as root! You think running them
via sudo is any better than however else you were thinking of doing
those things as root?
On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 21:00:59 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
Yeah, but sudo *is* for running things as root! You think running them
via sudo is any better than however else you were thinking of doing
those things as root?
Sudo limits the damage. Become root with 'sudo su -' and you'd better not have lapses of attention. I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root
the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking
fuses.
On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 21:00:59 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
Yeah, but sudo *is* for running things as root! You think running them
via sudo is any better than however else you were thinking of doing
those things as root?
Sudo limits the damage. Become root with 'sudo su -' and you'd better not have lapses of attention. I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root
the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking
fuses.
On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 21:00:59 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
Yeah, but sudo *is* for running things as root! You think running them
via sudo is any better than however else you were thinking of doing
those things as root?
Sudo limits the damage. Become root with 'sudo su -' and you'd better not have lapses of attention. I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root
the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking
fuses.
At Tue, 20 Jan 2026 19:47:14 -0500, c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
On 1/20/26 16:43, rbowman wrote:
On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 21:00:59 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
Yeah, but sudo *is* for running things as root! You think running them >>>> via sudo is any better than however else you were thinking of doing
those things as root?
Sudo limits the damage. Become root with 'sudo su -' and you'd better not >>> have lapses of attention. I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root >>> the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking
fuses.
'sudo', as often implemented, is NOT safe. PI-os
doesn't even ask for yer user PW.
You CAN tweak sudoers ... tighten things up a bit,
but that's more work and, if like me, you never
use 'visudo', just 'nano', you'd better get the
syntax right.
The alt is to have NO 'sudo'. If you are concerned
about security then this may be the best and easiest
path. Open a terminal, 'su', then you need the ROOT
password.
I have a file in /etc/sudoers.d that includes this directive:
Defaults targetpw
So I need the root password to sudo to root.
Maybe because typing sudo makes you aware that you are entering root territory?
On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 23:28:22 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Maybe because typing sudo makes you aware that you are entering root
territory?
I use a different theme for my root terminal sessions: a yellow
background as a subtle reminder to be a bit more careful there.
At Tue, 20 Jan 2026 19:47:14 -0500, c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
On 1/20/26 16:43, rbowman wrote:
On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 21:00:59 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
Yeah, but sudo *is* for running things as root! You think running them >>>> via sudo is any better than however else you were thinking of doing
those things as root?
Sudo limits the damage. Become root with 'sudo su -' and you'd better not >>> have lapses of attention. I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root >>> the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking
fuses.
'sudo', as often implemented, is NOT safe. PI-os
doesn't even ask for yer user PW.
You CAN tweak sudoers ... tighten things up a bit,
but that's more work and, if like me, you never
use 'visudo', just 'nano', you'd better get the
syntax right.
The alt is to have NO 'sudo'. If you are concerned
about security then this may be the best and easiest
path. Open a terminal, 'su', then you need the ROOT
password.
I have a file in /etc/sudoers.d that includes this directive:
Defaults targetpw
So I need the root password to sudo to root.
I?m having difficulty appreciating the point of this article ><https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-linux-root-can-do/>. It gives a
long list of horrible things that you must never, ever do. You know,
?Look at this big red button: do not ever press this button!?
And it gives this exhortation:
Just don't run commands as root. If you need to use a command that
requires admin privileges, always use sudo, so you have a better
chance of avoiding catastrophe.
Become root with 'sudo su -'
I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root
the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking
fuses.
On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 23:28:22 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Maybe because typing sudo makes you aware that you are entering root
territory?
I use a different theme for my root terminal sessions: a yellow
background as a subtle reminder to be a bit more careful there.
Very wise. We need more than 'reminding' - remember
there are many bad actors out there. Strictly, 'sudo'
should be removed - but most won't. At the very least
make it all a bit more 'complicated' for Xi. His boyz
will go after the low-hanging fruit, the most soft
targets with the least amount of effort.
...but the real answer is that ZDNet, like 99% of tech journalism these
days, is vapid clickbait trash with nothing to say, and when you have
nothing to say and your job requires you to say something, you'll just
say *any* old thing.
How do you make that switch automatically when you become root?
On 1/20/26 16:43, rbowman wrote:
Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
Yeah, but sudo *is* for running things as root! You think running them
via sudo is any better than however else you were thinking of doing
those things as root?
Sudo limits the damage. Become root with 'sudo su -' and you'd
better not have lapses of attention. I think it was OpenSUSE where if
you were root the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs
with smoking fuses.
'sudo', as often implemented, is NOT safe. PI-os
doesn't even ask for yer user PW.
You CAN tweak sudoers ... tighten things up a bit,
but that's more work and, if like me, you never
use 'visudo', just 'nano', you'd better get the
syntax right.
The alt is to have NO 'sudo'. If you are concerned
about security then this may be the best and easiest
path. Open a terminal, 'su', then you need the ROOT
password.
rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
Become root with 'sudo su -'
See my posting from a minute ago and read up about sudo -i. And then
don't use it.
I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root
the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking
fuses.
Don't ever ever start a desktop environment as root.
My shell prompt becomes red when I'm root. That happens seldomly
enough.
Greetings
Marc
'sudo', as often implemented, is NOT safe.
PI-os
doesn't even ask for yer user PW.
You CAN tweak sudoers ... tighten things up a bit,
but that's more work and, if like me, you never
use 'visudo', just 'nano', you'd better get the
syntax right.
The alt is to have NO 'sudo'. If you are concerned
about security then this may be the best and easiest
path. Open a terminal, 'su', then you need the ROOT
password.
And is this "sudo su" or just "sudo" ?
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 09:14:41 +0100, Marc Haber wrote:
How do you make that switch automatically when you become root?
It?s part of the setup for that Konsole profile: open a session with
that profile and it immediately prompts for the root password.
On 21/01/2026 08:14, Marc Haber wrote:
Don't ever ever start a desktop environment as root.I cant imagine why I would ever want to...
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
And is this "sudo su" or just "sudo" ?
sudo su is always wrong.
Marc Haber wrote this post by blinking in Morse code:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
And is this "sudo su" or just "sudo" ?
sudo su is always wrong.
Sure bro, sure.
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 11:19:35 +0100, Marc Haber wrote:
The ONE root password that you need to share at least with the team if
not with the whole company. And then change it everytime someone leaves,
which will inevitably lead to people writing down the sudo password of
the day.
At one time all the AIX and Linux boxes in the shop had the same root password -- wolf359. It was a simpler time.
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 11:19:35 +0100, Marc Haber wrote:
The ONE root password that you need to share at least with the team if
not with the whole company. And then change it everytime someone leaves,
which will inevitably lead to people writing down the sudo password of
the day.
At one time all the AIX and Linux boxes in the shop had the same root password -- wolf359. It was a simpler time.
All my computers have the password "BR-549" :-)
Oddly there's a band called the same:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKJeB03TrJg>
BR5-49 - Even If It's Wrong (Official Video)
Also: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xhTomqDTzE> :-D
Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 23:28:22 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Maybe because typing sudo makes you aware that you are entering root
territory?
I use a different theme for my root terminal sessions: a yellow
background as a subtle reminder to be a bit more careful there.
How do you make that switch automatically when you become root?
On Tue, 20 Jan 2026 21:00:59 -0000 (UTC)
Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
Yeah, but sudo *is* for running things as root! You think running them
via sudo is any better than however else you were thinking of doing
those things as root?
There's a certain extent to which you could make an argument that sudo >minimizes the chances of one accidentally running anything *else* as
root besides the operations that require it...
...but the real answer is that ZDNet, like 99% of tech journalism these
days, is vapid clickbait trash with nothing to say, and when you have
nothing to say and your job requires you to say something, you'll just
say *any* old thing.
On 21/01/2026 08:14, Marc Haber wrote:
rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:I cant imagine why I would ever want to...
Become root with 'sudo su -'
See my posting from a minute ago and read up about sudo -i. And then
don't use it.
I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root
the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking
fuses.
Don't ever ever start a desktop environment as root.
...but the real answer is that ZDNet, like 99% of tech journalism
these days, is vapid clickbait trash with nothing to say, and when
you have nothing to say and your job requires you to say something,
you'll just say *any* old thing.
Not to mention AI slop...
... and thus the better control possibilities that sudo offers are
moot.
Readable /etc/passwd, including hashed password.
sudo su is always wrong.
When repairing the computer, /home is out of commission, and text
login does not work, for some reason.
On 2026-01-21, Chris Ahlstrom <OFeem1987@teleworm.us> wrote:
All my computers have the password "BR-549" :-)
Oddly there's a band called the same:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKJeB03TrJg>
BR5-49 - Even If It's Wrong (Official Video)
Also: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xhTomqDTzE> :-D
Even more oddly, the band took it from a skit on the TV show
"Hee Haw", where Junior Samples would play a used car salesman
who invited people to telephone him at BR-549.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Samples#BR-549
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 11:19:35 +0100, Marc Haber wrote:
sudo su is always wrong.
It?s hilarious the number of people who use both programs in the one
command. ;)
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 22:32:57 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
When repairing the computer, /home is out of commission, and text
login does not work, for some reason.
If text logins don?t work, how would you expect GUI logins to work?
Charlie Gibbs wrote this post by blinking in Morse code:
On 2026-01-21, Chris Ahlstrom <OFeem1987@teleworm.us> wrote:
All my computers have the password "BR-549" :-)
Oddly there's a band called the same:
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKJeB03TrJg>
BR5-49 - Even If It's Wrong (Official Video)
Also: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xhTomqDTzE> :-D
Even more oddly, the band took it from a skit on the TV show
"Hee Haw", where Junior Samples would play a used car salesman
who invited people to telephone him at BR-549.
Yes, that was the second YouTube link above.
On 2026-01-22 00:51, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 22:32:57 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
When repairing the computer, /home is out of commission, and text
login does not work, for some reason.
If text logins don?t work, how would you expect GUI logins to work?
I have seen it happen once.
Nobody could login in text mode because one of the tools doing it was
broken in an update, while the graphical login used different tools.
"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2026-01-22 00:51, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 22:32:57 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
When repairing the computer, /home is out of commission, and text
login does not work, for some reason.
If text logins don?t work, how would you expect GUI logins to work?
I have seen it happen once.
Nobody could login in text mode because one of the tools doing it was
broken in an update, while the graphical login used different tools.
I find it interesting which exotic use cases people cough up to
justify their own every-day insecure usage.
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 23:50:25 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 11:19:35 +0100, Marc Haber wrote:
sudo su is always wrong.
It?s hilarious the number of people who use both programs in the one
command. ;)
'su' requires the root password and I have no idea what it is.
required my password and I become root.
On 2026-01-21 11:00, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 21/01/2026 08:14, Marc Haber wrote:
rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:I cant imagine why I would ever want to...
Become root with 'sudo su -'
See my posting from a minute ago and read up about sudo -i. And then
don't use it.
I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root
the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking
fuses.
Don't ever ever start a desktop environment as root.
I can.
For instance, when installing the computer and need to do many things
as root. Saves time.
On Mi 21 Jan 2026 at 22:32, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-01-21 11:00, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 21/01/2026 08:14, Marc Haber wrote:
rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:I cant imagine why I would ever want to...
Become root with 'sudo su -'
See my posting from a minute ago and read up about sudo -i. And then
don't use it.
I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root
the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking >>>>> fuses.
Don't ever ever start a desktop environment as root.
I can.
For instance, when installing the computer and need to do many things
as root. Saves time.
Just open a terminal window and change to root.
'Andreas
"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2026-01-22 00:51, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 22:32:57 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
When repairing the computer, /home is out of commission, and text
login does not work, for some reason.
If text logins don?t work, how would you expect GUI logins to work?
I have seen it happen once.
Nobody could login in text mode because one of the tools doing it was
broken in an update, while the graphical login used different tools.
I find it interesting which exotic use cases people cough up to
justify their own every-day insecure usage.
On Mi 21 Jan 2026 at 22:32, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-01-21 11:00, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 21/01/2026 08:14, Marc Haber wrote:
rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:I cant imagine why I would ever want to...
Become root with 'sudo su -'
See my posting from a minute ago and read up about sudo -i. And then
don't use it.
I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root
the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking >>>>> fuses.
Don't ever ever start a desktop environment as root.
I can.
For instance, when installing the computer and need to do many things
as root. Saves time.
Just open a terminal window and change to root.
On 2026-01-22 10:42, Marc Haber wrote:
"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2026-01-22 00:51, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 22:32:57 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
When repairing the computer, /home is out of commission, and text
login does not work, for some reason.
If text logins don?t work, how would you expect GUI logins to work?
I have seen it happen once.
Nobody could login in text mode because one of the tools doing it was
broken in an update, while the graphical login used different tools.
I find it interesting which exotic use cases people cough up to
justify their own every-day insecure usage.
Where do you get that I, or we, login every day as root?
I thought that was what "sudo -i" was for
On 2026-01-22 11:24, Andreas Eder wrote:
On Mi 21 Jan 2026 at 22:32, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-01-21 11:00, The Natural Philosopher wrote:Just open a terminal window and change to root.
On 21/01/2026 08:14, Marc Haber wrote:
rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:I cant imagine why I would ever want to...
Become root with 'sudo su -'
See my posting from a minute ago and read up about sudo -i. And then >>>>> don't use it.
I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root
the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking >>>>>> fuses.
Don't ever ever start a desktop environment as root.
I can.
For instance, when installing the computer and need to do many things
as root. Saves time.
One? I'm talking about opening a dozen terminals as root. Plus using
GUI tools that have to be used as root. Like YaST, or gparted.
Have you ever heard of screen or tmux?
But if you really want more terminals, well so be it, but there is still
no need for a desktop session for root.
* rbowman <bowman@montana.com>
| [...] 'sudo su' required my password and I become root.
I thought that was what "sudo -i" was for, but there might be subtle >differences w/ regards to which login-specific files are read.
On Do 22 Jan 2026 at 13:08, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-01-22 11:24, Andreas Eder wrote:
On Mi 21 Jan 2026 at 22:32, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-01-21 11:00, The Natural Philosopher wrote:Just open a terminal window and change to root.
On 21/01/2026 08:14, Marc Haber wrote:
rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:I cant imagine why I would ever want to...
Become root with 'sudo su -'
See my posting from a minute ago and read up about sudo -i. And then >>>>>> don't use it.
I think it was OpenSUSE where if you were root
the wallpaper turned bright red with round, black bombs with smoking >>>>>>> fuses.
Don't ever ever start a desktop environment as root.
I can.
For instance, when installing the computer and need to do many things
as root. Saves time.
One? I'm talking about opening a dozen terminals as root. Plus using
GUI tools that have to be used as root. Like YaST, or gparted.
Have you ever heard of screen or tmux?
But if you really want more terminals, well so be it, but there is still
no need for a desktop session for root.
On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 14:45:34 +0100, Ralf Fassel wrote:
* rbowman <bowman@montana.com>
| [...] 'sudo su' required my password and I become root.
I thought that was what "sudo -i" was for, but there might be subtle
differences w/ regards to which login-specific files are read.
R'
Force of habit? -i works. I very seldom use the option and didn't know
about -i.
I don't remember the timeline but when I first started using Linux you
would set a root password. 'su' would ask for that password and you would become root. It's been a long time but iirc there was a flag so you could retain your user environment which was handy if you had a lot of aliases.
Then when the root account was locked and didn't have a password 'su' wouldn't work but 'sudo su' seemed logical and it works. One twist is
'sudo su' leaves you in the same directory where 'sudo -i' puts you in / root.
On 22/01/2026 09:42, Marc Haber wrote:
"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:Being root is not ordinary everyday usage.
On 2026-01-22 00:51, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 22:32:57 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
When repairing the computer, /home is out of commission, and text
login does not work, for some reason.
If text logins don?t work, how would you expect GUI logins to work?
I have seen it happen once.
Nobody could login in text mode because one of the tools doing it was
broken in an update, while the graphical login used different tools.
I find it interesting which exotic use cases people cough up to
justify their own every-day insecure usage.
It is for emergencies and dramatic reconfigurations.
I guess by your standards having a full backup isn't justified either..
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 22/01/2026 09:42, Marc Haber wrote:
"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:Being root is not ordinary everyday usage.
On 2026-01-22 00:51, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 22:32:57 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
When repairing the computer, /home is out of commission, and text
login does not work, for some reason.
If text logins don?t work, how would you expect GUI logins to work?
I have seen it happen once.
Nobody could login in text mode because one of the tools doing it was
broken in an update, while the graphical login used different tools.
I find it interesting which exotic use cases people cough up to
justify their own every-day insecure usage.
You're missing the point.
It is for emergencies and dramatic reconfigurations.
I guess by your standards having a full backup isn't justified either..
You're guessing wrong.
Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
There seems to be this feeling that sudo is overly complicated and
prone to its own ongoing security vulnerabilities.
What are the currently ongoing security vulnerabilities in a current
sudo? I need to know that.
One? I'm talking about opening a dozen terminals as root.
Have you ever heard of screen or tmux?
I don't see a need to prohibit root opening a graphical session.
On 2026-01-22 00:51, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
On Wed, 21 Jan 2026 22:32:57 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
When repairing the computer, /home is out of commission, and text
login does not work, for some reason.
If text logins don?t work, how would you expect GUI logins to work?
I have seen it happen once.
Nobody could login in text mode because one of the tools doing it
was broken in an update, while the graphical login used different
tools.
On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:08:31 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
One? I'm talking about opening a dozen terminals as root.
That many?? I may have a couple dozen terminal sessions open at the
moment, but I don?t normally feel the need for more than 2-3 root
ones.
On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 20:15:09 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I don't see a need to prohibit root opening a graphical session.
The problem with logging into a GUI session as root is GUI tools are notoriously buggy. Root privilege already makes it so easy to invoke
actions you didn?t mean to; the greater complexity of GUI apps just
takes the potential for unexpected side-effects to a whole new level.
On 2026-01-22 22:08, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 20:15:09 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I don't see a need to prohibit root opening a graphical session.
The problem with logging into a GUI session as root is GUI tools are
notoriously buggy. Root privilege already makes it so easy to invoke
actions you didn?t mean to; the greater complexity of GUI apps just
takes the potential for unexpected side-effects to a whole new level.
I never noticed any issue. After all, normally I have to "su -" in a terminal, then call the graphical tool I need to run as root.
On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 20:15:09 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I don't see a need to prohibit root opening a graphical session.
The problem with logging into a GUI session as root is GUI tools are >notoriously buggy. Root privilege already makes it so easy to invoke
actions you didn?t mean to; the greater complexity of GUI apps just
takes the potential for unexpected side-effects to a whole new level.
I never noticed any issue.
After all, normally I have to "su -" in a
terminal, then call the graphical tool I need to run as root.
On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:08:31 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
One? I'm talking about opening a dozen terminals as root.
That many?? I may have a couple dozen terminal sessions open at the
moment, but I don?t normally feel the need for more than 2-3 root
ones.
Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:08:31 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
One? I'm talking about opening a dozen terminals as root.
That many?? I may have a couple dozen terminal sessions open at the
moment, but I don?t normally feel the need for more than 2-3 root
ones.
I didn't have a single root session open in months.
On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 12:30:39 -0800, Bobbie Sellers wrote:
I am fine with root and with user passwords and even machinepasswords.
Well here is a little article written some time ago.
Why PCLinuxOS Shuns sudo Use
< https://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201205/page11.html>
https://www.zdnet.com/article/pclinuxos-used-to-be-great-for-linux- newbies-but-not-anymore/
As I've mentioned before, I think Wallen is a hack, but so it goes. This
has piqued my curiosity though. How many current distros as you to set a
root password during the installation versus going the 'Ubuntu' route and using sudo unless you go out of your way to create a root password and activate the root account?
I can su on the Arch box although I use sudo.
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/ReduceInitialSetupRedundancy
This talks about live installs of Fedora Workstation and not the spins but
by the time I installed the KDE spin the root password creation had been dropped.
"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
I never noticed any issue.
Those, said in regard to security vulnerability, qualifies as "famous
last word". I hope you were mocking us saying that.
After all, normally I have to "su -" in a
terminal, then call the graphical tool I need to run as root.
So su - preserves DISPLAY?
And, does that still work with wayland?
And, where have you been in the decade since the desktop environments
began having their own method to call GUI things with elevated
privileges (which they often do better than in the classical way).
At least the xhost + (which was always a decidedly bad idea) has
become uncommon in these days.
On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 17:50:12 +0100, Andreas Eder wrote:
Have you ever heard of screen or tmux?
Useful for remote access, so I don?t need more than one SSH connection
to the machine.
Not so convenient locally.
On 2026-01-23 12:32, Marc Haber wrote:
"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
I never noticed any issue.
Those, said in regard to security vulnerability, qualifies as "famous
last word". I hope you were mocking us saying that.
Not really. If something happens, it is a bug and I report it. :-)
With this method, I can call dozens of graphical tools simultaneously
with only one password typing.
And, does that still work with wayland?
No idea, I don't have any machine with it.
But why would I use them?
On 23/01/2026 11:32, Marc Haber wrote:
Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:They didn't trust you with the password?
On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:08:31 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
One? I'm talking about opening a dozen terminals as root.
That many?? I may have a couple dozen terminal sessions open at the
moment, but I don?t normally feel the need for more than 2-3 root
ones.
I didn't have a single root session open in months.
And, does that still work with wayland?
No idea, I don't have any machine with it.
You will, sooner or later.
"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
But why would I use them?
Because you're too lazy for the command line?
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 23/01/2026 11:32, Marc Haber wrote:
Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:They didn't trust you with the password?
On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:08:31 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
One? I'm talking about opening a dozen terminals as root.
That many?? I may have a couple dozen terminal sessions open at the
moment, but I don?t normally feel the need for more than 2-3 root
ones.
I didn't have a single root session open in months.
I don't need the password, I am member of the sudo group, and I don't
need a session to work, I just need to occasionally issue single
commands.
I hate to say it, but Windows works that way. Are we worse than
them, we don't trust our tools to work properly? >:-)
On Fri, 23 Jan 2026 15:00:40 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I hate to say it, but Windows works that way. Are we worse than
them, we don't trust our tools to work properly? >:-)
And Windows is notorious for its never-ending litany of security
holes, while Linux has steadily become the rock-solid foundation of
the entire Internet infrastructure.
Coincidence? You be the judge.
On Fri, 23 Jan 2026 14:37:49 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
openSUSE creates a root user with the same password as the first user,
by default. You can click somewhere and use a different password.
Okay. My last OpenSUSE was 13.2 and I don't remember how I set it up 10
years ago.
sudo works with the user password, at least for the 1st user. I have not
tried a second user.
[...]
A second user can sudo to root with root's password.
That could be a problem although for most people the Linux box is single
user anyway.
A more realistic scenario is the Makespace laptops the library converted
to Linux Mint. There has to be at least one person to administer the machines. However the laptops are used by the kids for Arduino programming and other projects so there has to be another user that is not in the sudo group. I don't think each kid gets their own login although that may be a problem in the long run. The Arduino IDE saves the sketches in /home/user/ Arduino and added libraries in /home/user/.arduino15.
On Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:32:51 +0100, Marc Haber wrote:
Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
On Thu, 22 Jan 2026 13:08:31 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
One? I'm talking about opening a dozen terminals as root.
That many?? I may have a couple dozen terminal sessions open at the
moment, but I don?t normally feel the need for more than 2-3 root ones.
I didn't have a single root session open in months.
Same here and that covers 4 different boxes each with a different distro. It's been a year or two since I've messed with postgres but iirc you did
need a root session to get that set up and running.
On 2026-01-23 12:32, Marc Haber wrote:
"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
I never noticed any issue.
Those, said in regard to security vulnerability, qualifies as "famous
last word". I hope you were mocking us saying that.
Not really. If something happens, it is a bug and I report it. :-)
I hate to say it, but Windows works that way. Are we worse than them, we don't trust our tools to work properly? >:-)
On Fri, 23 Jan 2026 15:00:40 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
And, does that still work with wayland?
No idea, I don't have any machine with it.
I can't address your OpenSUSE configuration but on Ubuntu 'sudo su -'
starts a tty session with no display.
root@kropotkin:~# gvim
E233: Cannot open display
gVim fails and brings up Vim.
The Linux Mint laptop, which is x11, also reports root can open a display.
Le 23-01-2026, Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> a ‚crit˙:
On 2026-01-23 12:32, Marc Haber wrote:
"Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
I never noticed any issue.
Those, said in regard to security vulnerability, qualifies as "famous
last word". I hope you were mocking us saying that.
Not really. If something happens, it is a bug and I report it. :-)
I hate to say it, but Windows works that way. Are we worse than them, we
don't trust our tools to work properly? >:-)
Well, on Windows, there is something that's called an antivirus. It's mandatory. It's useless on Linux except if you have a server designed to
let Windows users download and upload files on it. Maybe there is
something here to consider about trust on Windows.
Yet more personal attacks from the netgroup Nazi
It's been a year or two since I've messed with postgres but iirc you did >need a root session to get that set up and running.
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
Yet more personal attacks from the netgroup Nazi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law 10/10.
On Sat, 24 Jan 2026 14:21:23 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2026-01-23 23:30, rbowman wrote:
On Fri, 23 Jan 2026 15:00:40 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
And, does that still work with wayland?
No idea, I don't have any machine with it.
I can't address your OpenSUSE configuration but on Ubuntu 'sudo su -'
starts a tty session with no display.
Where exactly do you type 'sudo su -'?
I ask because my custom is to run such commands on a terminal, so I
don't understand your sentence.
Specifically, konsole 25.8.1 on Ubuntu, konsole 25,12,1 on Fedora and Endeavour (Arch). On Ubuntu and Endeavour attempting to open a GUI
fails. On Fedora, Dolphin does start with a notice that running it as root
is not advisable.
Also, on Ubuntu I am in the 'sudo' group and on the other two 'wheel'.
Just how sudo is set up depends on the distro.
The Linux Mint laptop, which is x11, also reports root can open a
display.
can or can't? :-?
Can not. That one uses gnome-terminal but is derived from Ubuntu and uses the 'sudo' group.
On 24/01/2026 13:22, Marc Haber wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
Yet more personal attacks from the netgroup Nazi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law 10/10.
Oh, are people still quoting THAT?
On 2026-01-25, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 24/01/2026 13:22, Marc Haber wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
Yet more personal attacks from the netgroup Nazi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law 10/10.
Oh, are people still quoting THAT?
Rather than actual quotes, I've been noticing that people
are simply keeping a discreet distance from that little
fellow with the funny moustache. But they all know who
they're talking about.
Meanwhile, my wife is watching documentaries about Nazi Germany.
The parallels with today's situation are scary.
{Note Followups-To} ==== means ====> do not post on comp.os.linux.misc
On 2026-01-25 18:14, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2026-01-25, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 24/01/2026 13:22, Marc Haber wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
Yet more personal attacks from the netgroup Nazi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law˙ 10/10.
Oh, are people still quoting THAT?
Rather than actual quotes, I've been noticing that people
are simply keeping a discreet distance from that little
fellow with the funny moustache.˙ But they all know who
they're talking about.
Meanwhile, my wife is watching documentaries about Nazi Germany.
The parallels with today's situation are scary.
The son of a friend asked why the Minnesotans aren't activating their organised militias, per the 2nd amendment, to defend themselves against
the federal government.
On 2026-01-25, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 24/01/2026 13:22, Marc Haber wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
Yet more personal attacks from the netgroup Nazi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law 10/10.
Oh, are people still quoting THAT?
Rather than actual quotes, I've been noticing that people
are simply keeping a discreet distance from that little
fellow with the funny moustache. But they all know who
they're talking about.
Meanwhile, my wife is watching documentaries about Nazi Germany.
The parallels with today's situation are scary.
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