Passwords
Matt Gangemi
been having password troubles since the beginning. I started out as root,
and created an account for myself, called matt. In linuxconf, I "granted"
matt every permission that was offered. However, when I log in as matt, I
can't write to any part of the disk except /home/matt, and I don't even have
permission to use the modem (using minicom). Also, when I want to turn off
the computer I have to enter the root password. Is there a way to give
myself as much power, or almost as much power as the root account?
Thanks,
-Matt Gangemi
somebody
anyways?
Harland
In article <7ieoh4$k...@news.csus.edu>, gan...@sfsu.edu says...
Onno Ebbinge
(under root)
adduser matt -u 0 -g 0
passwd matt
(fill in password)
Now you can log in as matt, but you are root ;-)
However you should learn what being root -realy- means and
what being a normal user -realy- means...
Good luck,
Onno
Clark Jones
the
computer without bothering to become root is to set up a script that does
nothing but
shut down the computer. Then create an account (e.g., "shutdown"), and in the
/etc/passwd file put this script rather than the "shell" in the last field for
that
account. (You can set a password for this account, or if you don't mind the
risk
of having some unathorized party knocking off your machine, don't have a
password.)
When you get a login prompt, if you enter the name of this account (and passord
if you have one set), it runs the script which shuts the machine down (hopefully
you've got the script doing it "gracefully").
This approach can be used for many things, if you so desire.
BTW, I know of at least one large installation where they need to give the
individual
users the ability to shut down or to reboot the workstations that live on their
desks
-- they just set up accounts like this. Saves a lot of trouble getting the
"help desk"
to do it for them, and keeps them from having to pass out the root password.
Clark
somebody wrote:
>
> If you want all the access that being root affords, why not just login as root
> anyways?
>
> Harland
>
> In article <7ieoh4$k...@news.csus.edu>, gan...@sfsu.edu says...
> >
> >Hi, new Linux user here. I've recently installed RH Linux 6.0, and have
> >been having password troubles since the beginning. I started out as root,
> >and created an account for myself, called matt. In linuxconf, I "granted"
> >matt every permission that was offered. However, when I log in as matt, I
> >can't write to any part of the disk except /home/matt, and I don't even have
> >permission to use the modem (using minicom). Also, when I want to turn off
> >the computer I have to enter the root password. Is there a way to give
> >myself as much power, or almost as much power as the root account?
> >
> >Thanks,
> >-Matt Gangemi
> >
> >
--
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are mine and not necessarily
those of anyone else. (As if anyone else would want them!)
Internet: jo...@inficad.com RF: KI7TU
ICBM: 33 22' 01" N 111 43' 52" W Home Page: www.inficad.com/~jones
dnult
computer will perform a reboot, but you can snag the switch as soon as BIOS
level is reached. I am a bit of a newbie to Linux, so I'm not sure if this
will work with you setup, but it can be made to...somehow. There is a
configuration file which defines the behavior of cntlaltdel. I'm using SuSE
6.1 for reference.
-dnult
Clark Jones wrote in message <37597FD3...@inficad.com>...
C Sanjayan Rosenmund
>
> BTW: Any user can shutdown the computer by issuing Cntl+Alt+Del. The
> computer will perform a reboot, but you can snag the switch as soon as BIOS
> level is reached. I am a bit of a newbie to Linux, so I'm not sure if this
> will work with you setup, but it can be made to...somehow. There is a
> configuration file which defines the behavior of cntlaltdel. I'm using SuSE
> 6.1 for reference.
>
/etc/inittab which controls the behavior of "ctl+alt+del". In non SuSE
distros you can change this by hand and the changes will take effect on
the next reboot. By default it is set to reboot (shutdown -r now) but
it can be changed to hat (shutdown -h now) to cause the system to halt
on this key sequence. Its is the setting I have on my laptop with APM
enabled with "power off on system halt" so the laptop will shutdown and
power off when I do this. . . very convenient.
> >> In article <7ieoh4$k...@news.csus.edu>, gan...@sfsu.edu says...
> >> >
> >> >Hi, new Linux user here. I've recently installed RH Linux 6.0, and have
> >> >been having password troubles since the beginning. I started out as
> root,
> >> >and created an account for myself, called matt. In linuxconf, I
> "granted"
> >> >matt every permission that was offered. However, when I log in as matt,
> I
> >> >can't write to any part of the disk except /home/matt, and I don't even
> have
> >> >permission to use the modem (using minicom). Also, when I want to turn
> off
> >> >the computer I have to enter the root password. Is there a way to give
> >> >myself as much power, or almost as much power as the root account?
> >> >
> >> >Thanks,
> >> >-Matt Gangemi
I recommend using an auto dialer to use the modem and connect to the
net. . .one less thing for you to have to worry about. One very popular
one is diald which may have been supplied with your distribution. The
reason that users do not have as much power as root (for example) is to
protect the system from mistakes/typos that occur from time to time. If
you *really* need to have root's power, do it as root. Otherwise, your
best bet is to work within the limitations of a normal user. It is just
safer.
--
C. Sanjayan Rosenmund, Staff Support Engineer, Linuxcare Inc.
srose...@linuxcare.com www.linuxcare.com
Linuxcare. At the center of Linux
Phone:415-354-4878 x332 Fax: 415-701-7457