Use of Root

Bill Horne bill at horne.net
Mon Jan 31 22:23:50 EST 2005


karina.popkova at verizon.net wrote:

>Hello
>
>I know there is an on-going argument on the 
>priviledge of using Root.
>
>If you are a System Admin, you do not 
>want the User to have Root priviledges.
>If you are a Heavy Duty User, you want 
>access to root, for expediency.
>
>That argument aside, and assuming security is not 
>an issue on a small closed network, (yes, I know
>that security is always an issue!),
>
>what are the kinds of things a User can do
>if having Root priviledges, that makes his (her) 
>job (daily life) easier in a Linux environment?
>
>thanks
>
>karina
>
Karina,

I'll add my $0.02, and say that users almost never need root privileges -

... provided that their environment has been well documented, the users 
are trained, and the system includes reasonable fallbacks (such as 
alternate printers) to allow users to continue working without needing 
to modify their basic configuration.

It's all in the preparation: IMNSHO, a user who "needs" root privileges 
is a sign of a system that needs more support.

FWIW. YMMV.

Bill

-- 
E. William Horne
William Warren Consulting
http://william_warren.home.comcast.net
781 784-7287





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