Jerry L Kreps wrote:
Even though SuSE does a good job of installing a relatively safe system, running as root is a bad, bad thing to do, even if you don't connect to the Internet.
I know that's traditional Unix dogma and there's some wisdom to it. But I think the security aspect is overblown for machines that aren't connected to the outside world. You may need to worry about tsetse flies in tropical Africa, but they're not much of a problem in Newfoundland. I think of root usage as resembling the safety catch on my chainsaw. It helps to prevent accidents. On the other hand, if you spend much time tweaking your system, you're bound to have to operate as root a lot of the time anyway. There are a few ways of making root usage pretty easy: 1. Use sudo. 2. Open an xterm and immediately su to root 3. Assign a null password to root and remove the password field from root's entry in /etc/shadow. 4. Remember that `su -c "blah"' is your friend. Paul Abrahams -- To unsubscribe send e-mail to suse-linux-e-unsubscribe@suse.com For additional commands send e-mail to suse-linux-e-help@suse.com Also check the FAQ at http://www.suse.com/Support/Doku/FAQ/