From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Sun Jan 4 23:54:33 2009 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id AFA5A106566C for ; Sun, 4 Jan 2009 23:54:33 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from modulok@gmail.com) Received: from rv-out-0506.google.com (rv-out-0506.google.com [209.85.198.232]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 82B518FC16 for ; Sun, 4 Jan 2009 23:54:33 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from modulok@gmail.com) Received: by rv-out-0506.google.com with SMTP id b25so8367544rvf.43 for ; Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:54:33 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:message-id:date:from:to :subject:cc:in-reply-to:mime-version:content-type :content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition:references; bh=atnEJ6dJM2DEm1B3Fs+59WoJNPO2CF4nlyQOzHn44PQ=; b=ouPqj28hKQCU114RJ6eXu2PT9o9XeSwUM5uIrwgqAmJ/msJW1UYMT2NODEe43QDiEU Njcfcz40Yeylz3lyAPPJCFO2wq2jjcX4qwQ+C0EojJscg5gKHKAPK61CdRACECBucdCP mfX7O9WTINFhANMNK8kw9tGygcjTunpF/VnCg= DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=message-id:date:from:to:subject:cc:in-reply-to:mime-version :content-type:content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition :references; b=EvpqTdtJ3p+xBq3BifVL4A0/hZQpWx06sf5X6C9vrQxs2xVQSDrDsOVFvM1q6lUF4P BZleQ620G1ajzRqD67+ld43o8m+npmUXpe0UHkhX8T6E979TjBPjmo/CJj3WYK3UL1cv pqa3jNalYYMBVOOvj8cX+qcEsd90y3ENv2ZEw= Received: by 10.142.79.14 with SMTP id c14mr8387205wfb.346.1231113272947; Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:54:32 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.142.207.1 with HTTP; Sun, 4 Jan 2009 15:54:32 -0800 (PST) Message-ID: <64c038660901041554x1935571fn65dae34fc1eef89e@mail.gmail.com> Date: Sun, 4 Jan 2009 16:54:32 -0700 From: Modulok To: "David Christensen" In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline References: Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: FreeBSD 7.0-RELEASE-i386 will changing root shell break anything? X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:54:33 -0000 > Does anybody know if it's okay to change the root shell? A topic of debate, but yes it is okay to change the root shell, but there are some things to know... Some people fret about the idea that shells like bash are not on the root partition and are usually dynamically linked to libraries which reside on /usr and are therefore not available in single-user mode. (One could install a static version of bash to avoid this.) Additionally, FreeBSD prompts the user for the path to the desired shell when going into single-user mode. Shells like sh and tcsh, while dynamically linked, their libs reside on the root partition. If that isn't enough, statically linked shells exist in /rescue and therefore should always be available. Furthermore, the installation CD can be booted from and can provide an emergency repair shell. So yes, there is no technical reason you cannot change the root shell. Just be aware that a default bash install will not be available in single-user mode. But... best security practices dictate that you should not be using the root shell. If you're using the root shell often enough to find the default shell inconvenient, you should consider using something like sudo and a regular user account instead. You can use the builtin 'su' command with the '-m' flag to preserve the environment of the current user, while elevating your privileges. The shell used will be the login shell of the user issuing the 'su' command. Only members of the group 'wheel' may issue the 'su' command. -Modulok- On 1/4/09, David Christensen wrote: > freebsd-questions: > > I'm building a fresh Amanda server using FreeBSD 7.0-RELEASE-i386: > > > http://portsmon.freebsd.org/portoverview.py?category=misc&portname=amand > a-server > > > Most of my software background is GNU/Linux. I would prefer using the > Bash shell, but the default FreeBSD shell for root appears to be the C > shell: > > p3450# echo $SHELL > /bin/csh > > > I have changed the root shell to Bash on another machine I use as a CVS > server and haven't noticed any issues yet, but I've been wondering if > I'm setting myself up for problems by doing so. > > > Does anybody know if it's okay to change the root shell on FreeBSD > 7.0-RELEASE-i386? > > > TIA, > > David > > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" >