[P1] Logging in as root

[Meg St. Clair]

Chas-

Very helpful answer. I appreciate everyone's explanations. Knowing what
could go wrong helps me decide when it's okay to take the risk.

Thanks,
Meg



On 2/3/03 5:25 AM, "Charles Martin" <chasm at mac.com> wrote (edited for
length):

>> From: "Meg St. Clair" <megsaint at earthlink.net>
>> If I just log on as root and delete a file (which I find a lot easier
>> to
>> remember how to do than the syntax of sudo), what specific bad things
>> will
>> happen?
> 
> Direct answer: nothing bad will happen.
> 
> It's when you forget you are logged in as root and start doing routine
> system work (moving files, replacing files, etc) that bad things COULD
> happen. What could happen is that files get associated with root and
> will no longer respond (or behave unexpectedly) when you try to
> manipulate them as an admin or regular user.
> 
> There is also the danger that (as root) you could move files to places
> where they should not be, breaking associations the files depend on to
> work. Example: moving Quicktime out of its expected place causes iMovie
> to fail.
> 
> Even very computer-saavy people are not immune to making dumb mistakes
> (like forgetting they are logged in as root, or throwing away the wrong
> file, etc). Obviously, root is no place for a non-expert to be at all,
> but even computer-savvy (even UNIX-saavy!) people are urged to avoid
> logging in as root *because* we are all human and make mistakes. The
> "sudo" command, by being something we conscientiously have to invoke,
> prevents a lot of the kinds of problems that are caused by being logged
> in as root and not remembering this.
> 
> HTAYQ.
> 
> _Chas_
> Moderator, rec.arts.drwho.moderated
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