Root login on Ubuntu

Offy

I tried to log in as root and cant. I've edited /ect/kde3/kdm/kmdrc to allow root login but I still cannot login as root. Anyone know what I should do to allow root login?

corkie

No root login is done on purpose in ubuntu as a security precaution.

You shouldn't change it.

If you need applications to run as root. Open a terminal with an account that has admin permissions.

Type "sudo su" or "sudo (application name)"

i.e "sudo konqueror" if you have kde or "sudo nautilus" in gnome will open these applications as root.

Or use the "alt+F2" in KDE expand the options and you can run any application as root, by provide your password in the dialog. (password is for account your running under, not root password).

For Ubuntu users it is recommended to use the account which they created on time of install and use the "sudo" command while in terminal to execute commands as root user.

But in case you still want to? Solution: link.
However the only issue in this case is that by logging to Ubuntu as root you are making your operating system more vulnerable.

Regards,
J.

Offy

Thanks for that corkie but no joy. Im going back to redhat or maybe suse at the weekend. Do you remember a few years ago when people used to joke about ms welding the bonnet shut? Deb seem to have gone the same way :mad: pity because other than the root issue I quite like ubuntu.

yoyo

To setup root login in ubuntu you go into System>Admininstration and I think its user manager or user options or something (Not used it in a while), In here you can set the root password once you provide your user password

Nick

ronkmonster

why do you need root access so badly

sudo lets you run apps as root and only that one app so the whole system isn't exposed.

Amalgam

I can see the sense of not running as root, but then you come across applications that make you want to slip back into bad habits.

I'm using Lacie's Lightscribe utility to burn Lightscribe discs (works with any drive..) and it allows you to do everything as a user, but only 'print' the disc as root. Annoying.

My solution is to run the application from the terminal, is there a way to get the application to prompt for the root password at the point of printing?










---

Some offtopic Lightscribe links, it might interest someone.

Default Lightscribe Linux:
http://www.lightscribe.com/downloadSection/linux/index.aspx

Lacie Lightscribe Linux:
http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10803

The Lacie application has worse text handling than the 'Default' Linux Lightscribe, but cleaner\clearer graphics handling\positioning.

If you've installed the Lightscribe Host Software from the Lightscribe site, then you only need the Lacie main application.

corkie

Offy wrote: »

Thanks for that corkie but no joy. Im going back to redhat or maybe suse at the weekend. Do you remember a few years ago when people used to joke about ms welding the bonnet shut? Deb seem to have gone the same way :mad: pity because other than the root issue I quite like ubuntu.

Did u mean to say "Welding the bonnet open"? Other the over annoying UAC in vista, MS has a history, of features left open and turned on by default. And then having to tweak, lock down the OS and browser.

I guess, if you are using root or need the feature. You know what your doing. That is the good thing about Linux. You can use it how you want.

Regards,
J.

corkie

Amalgam wrote: »

I'm using Lacie's Lightscribe utility to burn Lightscribe discs (works with any drive..) and it allows you to do everything as a user, but only 'print' the disc as root. Annoying.

My solution is to run the application from the terminal, is there a way to get the application to prompt for the root password at the point of print.

At a guess it would be to change the permissions for the program and give the ability to write or access disks/removable media.

> system > admin > users and groups.

regards,
J.

Offy

ronkmonster wrote: »

why do you need root access so badly

sudo lets you run apps as root and only that one app so the whole system isn't exposed.

I installed an application and it automatically installed in roots folder. I want to copy and edit files but have to use the console to do it which is turning out ot be slowwwwwww. When I Alt+F2 and type su dolphin nothing happens so Im left doing all from the console. Its a pain AND why the hell would I buy a car with the bonnet welded shut? I spent five years on a redhat server (nice one typedef) and never had problems. Ubuntu taking root login away is to much like MS for me. Its my computer and I want to use it as I like. Either red hat or suse get installed this weekend, pity because I kinda like ubuntu.

ronkmonster

i think there is a seperate sudo command for graphical programs

kdesudo maybe. or else sudo dolphin.
using just su seemed to break my dolphin.

also i think there changed the method to enable root at some point. so maybe googling ubuntu enable root might provide a working solution.

niallb

Offy wrote: »

...When I Alt+F2 and type su dolphin nothing happens...

Hi,
something does happen, but it's not what you're expecting.
You're asking the system to change user identity to the user dolphin, which doesn't exist,
so it exits immeditely. You'll see this clearly if you type it in a terminal window.

If you want to make this happen from the ALT-F2 prompt, you instead need to type
gksu dolphin


To set a root password and allow login is easy enough.
Once you have a terminal running and have become root, simply type passwd.

Offy

niallb wrote: »

If you want to make this happen from the ALT-F2 prompt, you instead need to type
gksu dolphin

Hi Niallb, long time no see. Thanks for the tip, that does open dolphin as root but every folder is empty and I cant locate any folder like bin, mnt, sys and so on. Ubuntu is really reminding me of Windows and I dont say that in a good way. Login as root does leave the system open to a certain extent but it also allows the owen to do what they want with the system, I dont have that choice with Ubuntu, it was that choice that lead me to linux in the first place.

tpotter

Offy wrote: »

Hi Niallb, long time no see. Thanks for the tip, that does open dolphin as root but every folder is empty and I cant locate any folder like bin, mnt, sys and so on. Ubuntu is really reminding me of Windows and I dont say that in a good way. Login as root does leave the system open to a certain extent but it also allows the owen to do what they want with the system, I dont have that choice with Ubuntu, it was that choice that lead me to linux in the first place.

So you are saying you want to login to X as root? Really? If any thing, that is more of a windows practice than anything else and pretty much goes against basic *nix security principals. It doesn't leave the system open to a "certain extent" it leaves it wide open to a complete extent.

Of course, if I am reading you wrong and you just want to enable the root account, this is a simple matter. Personally I enable root, just because when I do need root access, like when I am messing around on one of my servers, I don't like having to preface everything with sudo.

Offy

tpotter wrote: »

Really?

lol no not really just a little bit

stereo_steve

I could be wrong but I think I just did sudo passwd root from the terminal and that was it.

TBH I think your making a mountain out of a molehill Offy.

ravydavygravy

We run mostly redhat servers, but we have 1 ubuntu box running some crappy website. Anytime i need to root for more than one command, i just become root using "sudo su -".

Offy

stereo_steve wrote: »

I could be wrong but I think I just did sudo passwd root from the terminal and that was it.

TBH I think your making a mountain out of a molehill Offy.

No prob setting root password and no prob getting around in the console and yes steve I am exaggerating but why should Ubuntu lock out root like that? Its my computer steve so its up to me what runs and what doesnt. I used redhat for five years and never had any issues, it was never hacked, it never let so much as one virus onto the lan and all the time with me logged in as root whenever I wanted to do any admin stuff. So as far as Im concerned Im leaving Ubuntu with little chance I'll ever return.
Its not an Ubuntu thing, its me wanting what I had with redhat and even with suse for a while. Im not exaggerating when I say it reminds me of Windows, I remember when the mouse didnt exist and I've seen MS grow from nothing. I remember been excited when DOS was released and couldnt wait to get a copy. Then came 3.1 and I loved it. Next came 95 and quake along with it, another joy. After that it was downhill for MS. Networking machines was simple up to that. Then MS started changing things and now Ubuntu seem to be going down the same road so they loose my support.
I've paid for redhat before and I'm happy to pay again because once I do I know I can set-up my machine the way I want it, I cant do that with Ubuntu, I have to use it the way they want me to use it. Im a hardware engineer, I want my electronics to do what I want them to do not what Ubuntu wants to let me do. I use linux because I sometimes program microcontrollers with C and linux also uses C which makes things easier for me. Not having full control over what my machine does is not making things easier for me. Its a pain in the ass to be honest.

corkie

Ubuntu has been designed that way for novices or new user's to linux.

Offy your definitely not a novice user, you could tweak ubuntu to make it work the way you want. Or go back to your favorite distro. I mainly use it as it more compatible with my hardware and i prefer it because of it's package management features as opposed to suse's.

If i had the time to spare and burn. i would be using Slackware and compiling and tweaking the kernel to my hardware etc.

Regards,
J.

P.S. Link to an old blog: Choice on any issue, but relevant to where this thread is going.

stereo_steve

Offy wrote: »

No prob setting root password and no prob getting around in the console and yes steve I am exaggerating but why should Ubuntu lock out root like that? Its my computer steve so its up to me what runs and what doesnt. I used redhat for five years and never had any issues, it was never hacked, it never let so much as one virus onto the lan and all the time with me logged in as root whenever I wanted to do any admin stuff. So as far as Im concerned Im leaving Ubuntu with little chance I'll ever return.
Its not an Ubuntu thing, its me wanting what I had with redhat and even with suse for a while. Im not exaggerating when I say it reminds me of Windows, I remember when the mouse didnt exist and I've seen MS grow from nothing. I remember been excited when DOS was released and couldnt wait to get a copy. Then came 3.1 and I loved it. Next came 95 and quake along with it, another joy. After that it was downhill for MS. Networking machines was simple up to that. Then MS started changing things and now Ubuntu seem to be going down the same road so they loose my support.
I've paid for redhat before and I'm happy to pay again because once I do I know I can set-up my machine the way I want it, I cant do that with Ubuntu, I have to use it the way they want me to use it. Im a hardware engineer, I want my electronics to do what I want them to do not what Ubuntu wants to let me do. I use linux because I sometimes program microcontrollers with C and linux also uses C which makes things easier for me. Not having full control over what my machine does is not making things easier for me. Its a pain in the ass to be honest.

TBH more mountains out of molehills

Offy, my comment was not an attack on you or your experience. Far from it.

I'm merely saying that the root account being locked out is a minor issue. I'm sure the fact that it is locked out causes alot more good than harm. For new users its beneficial and for more experienced users it takes 5 secs to change.

Offy

stereo_steve wrote: »

TBH more mountains out of molehills

Offy, my comment was not an attack on you or your experience. Far from it.

I'm merely saying that the root account being locked out is a minor issue. I'm sure the fact that it is locked out causes alot more good than harm. For new users its beneficial and for more experienced users it takes 5 secs to change.

I never though you were attacking me steve, we just have different views thats all and thanks corkie, I never used slackware, might have a look at that

Capt'n Midnight

ravydavygravy wrote: »

We run mostly redhat servers, but we have 1 ubuntu box running some crappy website. Anytime i need to root for more than one command, i just become root using "sudo su -".

Run sudo bash
or in bash
sudo -s

corkie

Offy wrote: »

I never though you were attacking me steve, we just have different views thats all and thanks corkie, I never used slackware, might have a look at that

Slackware is just poor raw code and stable, nothing customized like other Distros.

The Slackware Philosophy
Since its first beta release in April of 1993, the Slackware Linux Project has aimed at producing the most "UNIX-like" Linux distribution out there. Slackware complies with the published Linux standards, such as the Linux File System Standard. We have always considered simplicity and stability paramount, and as a result Slackware has become one of the most popular, stable, and friendly distributions available.

I Learn allot about the linux system from using Slackware and compiling kernel's to suit my hardware.

Alternatively you have Slax which is based on Slackware. Use as a USB boot stick, if i need to tweak Ubuntu configurations files or apache files on ubuntu box. I sometimes use slax to do it. Slax can even be run from ram, used it successfully on AA1 with 1gb of ram.

Latest version also as the ability to boot other computers over the network, successfully boot my desktop computer from my AA1 with just a network cable linking both.

Regards,
J.

Offy

corkie wrote: »

Slackware is just poor raw code and stable, nothing customized like other Distros.



I Learn allot about the linux system from using Slackware and compiling kernel's to suit my hardware.

Alternatively you have Slax which is based on Slackware. Use as a USB boot stick, if i need to tweak Ubuntu configurations files or apache files on ubuntu box. I sometimes use slax to do it. Slax can even be run from ram, used it successfully on AA1 with 1gb of ram.

Latest version also as the ability to boot other computers over the network, successfully boot my desktop computer from my AA1 with just a network cable linking both.

Regards,
J.

It sounds like exactly what I want and thats where the fun is in linux, building it from scrach. The first redhat install I did was ten years ago. There was no taskbar, no start menu, nothing but anything I wanted was available. It just had to be added. BIG thanks to Terra for introducing me to linux. With it I was able to build a machine that did what I wanted it to do with the applications I wanted. To me linux is freedom.

corkie

Offy wrote: »

It sounds like exactly what I want and thats where the fun is in linux, building it from scrach. The first redhat install I did was ten years ago. There was no taskbar, no start menu, nothing but anything I wanted was available. It just had to be added. BIG thanks to Terra for introducing me to linux. With it I was able to build a machine that did what I wanted it to do with the applications I wanted. To me linux is freedom.

If your still looking to try Slackware and haven't got around to downloading it's available on LXF119.

Regards,
J.

Tillotson

Try Archlinux.
You use the installer to set up the network, time, bootloader, repositories etc reboot and you're at a console. You build up from there. All binaries, except the user repository so no compiling. The wiki is really good and the repos are extensive and up to date. Package manager is really good.

bushy...

Offy wrote: »

No prob setting root password and no prob getting around in the console and yes steve I am exaggerating but why should Ubuntu lock out root like that? Its my computer steve so its up to me what runs and what doesnt. I used redhat for five years and never had any issues, it was never hacked, it never let so much as one virus onto the lan and all the time with me logged in as root whenever I wanted to do any admin stuff. So as far as Im concerned Im leaving Ubuntu with little chance I'll ever return.
Its not an Ubuntu thing, its me wanting what I had with redhat and even with suse for a while. Im not exaggerating when I say it reminds me of Windows, I remember when the mouse didnt exist and I've seen MS grow from nothing. I remember been excited when DOS was released and couldnt wait to get a copy. Then came 3.1 and I loved it. Next came 95 and quake along with it, another joy. After that it was downhill for MS. Networking machines was simple up to that. Then MS started changing things and now Ubuntu seem to be going down the same road so they loose my support.
I've paid for redhat before and I'm happy to pay again because once I do I know I can set-up my machine the way I want it, I cant do that with Ubuntu, I have to use it the way they want me to use it. Im a hardware engineer, I want my electronics to do what I want them to do not what Ubuntu wants to let me do. I use linux because I sometimes program microcontrollers with C and linux also uses C which makes things easier for me. Not having full control over what my machine does is not making things easier for me. Its a pain in the ass to be honest.

I just see Ubuntu as re-inventing the wheel while sucking up the time of good developers who get roped in by the marketing