A more complicated way to log on to root?

[kybishop]

I was looking at the login screen setup under system -> administrator, and i was wondering, where is the code it chages when you choose to automatically log in as a user. couldn't i manually edit it so i can log on as root (because the application doesn't have root as a choice)

[psusi]

You do not log in as root except in recovery mode. If you need root privleges use sudo. See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RootSudo

[harisund]

Yes.. it is generally not a very good idea to log in as root.. However, there are some work arounds..

1. If you want to avoid typing sudo behind almost everything you need to get done, you could do
sudo -r
This will then give you a root terminal. I normally keep one terminal with the root prompt for quick administration .. Everything you do will be in sudo mode, so you can actually open synaptic from this and it wouldn't ask for the password.

2. You could edit the /etc/sudoers file such that you are not asked a password. You still have to sudo every time, but atleast you wouldn't have a password.

3. You can actually create the root account (whose home folder will be in /root.) This can be done using sudo passwd root. Then you can enable root login through GDM (least advisable, if you ask me.)

[kybishop]

i checked the option to log in as root and i do, but i still can't get the login setup to let me select root as an option for automatic startup,

[Burke]

Couldn't you, instead of typing "sudo -r", simply type "su"? Or is that a security risk?