Greg Stewart wrote: > > I did forget (and had to be reminded by a friend) that in addition to group > root, the user should belong to group wheel. And, apparently this does not > automatically make the user "equal" to root, but gives most root > priveledges. To be root, all you need is a uid ==0: useradd -u 0 -g 0 -c 'Backup root account' -d /root <new_root_account_name> (why not make home =/root, maybe you would want to set it to /, so nothing happens if your /root dir gets taken out, and no reason not to be in the root group) > As well, if the linux "root" account gets "screwed", as it can in > Windows/Novell, the system is usually "just as screwed". except when you boot linux in single more (LILO: linux single), which is why you need to ensure that your boot loader has a password set with restrictions (so you have to type in a password to pass kernel options). > For almost all maintenance, it really is best to log in as a simple user, > and su to root for the administration. If you really feel you need the path > variables set in that account you can add them to the user's local .bashrc > file. I tend to type the path at the command line automatically, so I don't > even notice this. And, I can't even remember the last time I had to log in > as root--I 'su' for everything just fine, and this protects "root" from any > damage. So, I have no need for multiple admin accounts. "su -" will set the environment variables (ie path etc) [snip] -- |--------------------------------------------------------------| Buchan Milne Mechanical Engineer, Network Manager Cellphone +27824722231 email mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Centre for Automotive Engineering http://www.cae.co.za South Africas first satellite: http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za Control Models http://www.control.co.za |----------------Registered Linux User #182071-----------------|
Keep in touch with http://mandrakeforum.com: Subscribe the "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" mailing list.
