Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 12:05:02 -0600 (CST) From: BJ Bell <brian@centrisys.com> To: freebsd-newbies@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: being root Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.3.96.980323115733.2284A-100000@erebus.artificers.net>
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Ok, here are my thoughts and experiences with loggin in as root: First of all, I never login as root I always su root, in face I dont even allow root logins anywhere, event he console on any of my machines. You just have to remember that root has full access to everything, if you cd to /tmp/junk and rm -rf * thats ok sure, but what if you make a mistake (humans are quite prone to making mistakes) and end up removing a tree you need, etc. Normal tasks should not be done as root, there is no reason for it. People who try to irc as root usually are not allowed on most servers (unet ones, at least it use to be that way) because many ppl have auto dcc accept, /dcc send Artificer /etc/passwd would leave you with regrets. I have screwed up my machine(s) more then once because I was using root when I shouldnt have. A lot of it is common sense, Id like to think that I have some, but I make stupid mistakes all the time. Also I want even talk about sessions being hijacked, permission settings for new created files, and the many, many more things that come from using root when you don't need to. I su as root rarely..just to dialup to the internet, install software, and check logs ocasionally, anything else should be done with normal users IMHO, even just compiling a program that you will later install as root. If your a newbie its good to form good habits and not feel opressed like everyone is trying to prevent you from doing what you want on your own computer :P. You'll realize the writers dont care if you screw something up, they dont have to spend hours fixing it..YOU do. Take their advice. :P BJ ---- No Compromise (No Regrets) BJ Bell (aka Artificer) brian@centrisys.com ---- To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-newbies" in the body of the message
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