Ubuntu 12.10 - user=root?

**felkar** · November 5th, 2012

By default, Ubuntu prevents users from activities that can destroy the OS; some operations that need "root" privileges automatically open an "authentication screen".

What about the other operations? - e.g. "adding an entry in "/etc/fstab" so that I have the (user) option to mount other HD partitions into the "/mnt/directory" of my currently loaded OS?.

Not really an "Absolute Beginner's question"! But I am an Absolute Beginner in Ubuntu and have to start somewhere.

felkar

**duanedesign** · November 5th, 2012

Ubuntu by default has the root account locked. The root account does physically exist so it is possible to run programs with root level privileges. This is called Sudo in Ubuntu.

In the terminal use sudo for commands that requirre root privileges. Siimply prepend sudo to commands you would normally run as root. Ex.

Code:

gedit /etc/fstab

You would run this as:

Code:

sudo /etc/fstab

I have been using Ubuntu for years and have never had any situation where I needed to enable the root account. Using sudo covers 99% of all use cases.

PLease read the following for more detailed info on sudo and how Ubuntu uses permissions. For an Ubuntu user this page is worth its weight in gold.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo

**DuckHook** · November 5th, 2012

Welcome to Ubuntu. This link

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo

is a great introduction to sudo and gksudo. If you are coming from the Windows world, one of the best features of Ubunu/Linux is its better security, but such security is only effective if we do not seek to bypass it. Except for very rare circumstances that the average user is unlikely to encounter, it is a good idea to keep the root account inactive and use sudo/gksudo instead.

<edit> oops. forum staff beat me to the answer.

@duanedesign. You probably mean:

Code:

gksudo gedit /etc/fstab

**Bucky Ball** · November 5th, 2012

Originally Posted by duanedesign

You would run this as:

Code:

sudo /etc/fstab

No, you would run this:

Code:

gksudo gedit /etc/fstab

If you wanted to use nano in a terminal rather than Gedit, you would use:

Code:

sudo nano /etc/fstab

Be warned: Now you are root so anything you do will stick. Therefore, best to run this to copy the original file before you start:

Code:

sudo cp /etc/fstab /etc/fstab.bak

Or whatever you'd like to call it. If things go pear-shaped:

Code:

sudo mv /etc/fstab.bak /etc/fstab

Or you could just let Grub Customizer rewrite the fstab for you:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=10340183

PS: sudo = super user do! So be careful with it.

**felkar** · November 5th, 2012

My thanks to the three respondents, who took the time to send such a comprehensive reply.

Learning to invoke and use "sudo" will be a useful discipline. My previous experience was with Debian - which was installed with the options to be either "user" or "root".

So, at least, I know the hazards of being "root".

felkar

**Bucky Ball** · November 5th, 2012

This is the same. 'sudo' makes you root temporarily. Otherwise you're a user. You can log in as root but not wise. Ubuntu based on Debian.

**felkar** · November 5th, 2012

Originally Posted by Bucky Ball

This is the same. 'sudo' makes you root temporarily. Otherwise you're a user. You can log in as root but not wise. Ubuntu based on Debian.

The option to log in as "guest" is offered on the opening screen of Ubuntu 12.10.

"logging in" as "root" is not an obvious option for a "guest". Which as probably a good thing!

Thank you for the advice

felkar

**JKyleOKC** · November 5th, 2012

While it's possible to set Ubuntu up so that you can log in as root, it does require special preparation to do so -- and forum policy forbids any of us from telling you how to do it. However as others have said, there's really no need to do so since "sudo" and "gksudo" suffice for at least 99% of the needs for root. In my own experience, over the past five years with Xubuntu, the percentage has been 99.999999999% (and no, that infinitesimal probability that an occasion might rise where root is necessary is just to take care of Murphy's Law; I've never encountered such a situation and cannot envision one ever taking place).

**drew3000** · March 2nd, 2013

i don't really think this solves it, sorry. I'm setting up a web development space on my system and it installs it in /var/www/ and if I want to make folders or edit files there it does say I need root access to do it, so I hae to log in as root just to make a folder or just to change a bit of code. Annoying. There must be some way to give my regular user account extra access to edit this area or I just need to be logged in as root.

Originally Posted by JKyleOKC

While it's possible to set Ubuntu up so that you can log in as root, it does require special preparation to do so -- and forum policy forbids any of us from telling you how to do it. However as others have said, there's really no need to do so since "sudo" and "gksudo" suffice for at least 99% of the needs for root. In my own experience, over the past five years with Xubuntu, the percentage has been 99.999999999% (and no, that infinitesimal probability that an occasion might rise where root is necessary is just to take care of Murphy's Law; I've never encountered such a situation and cannot envision one ever taking place).

**JKyleOKC** · March 2nd, 2013

Your situation is exactly what the "group" permissions are intended to solve. You can use "sudo" to change the group permission for /var/www to be "rwx" (if it does not already have those permissions), and then use the "users and groups" utility (or a command line equivalent) to add yourself to the group that's listed for /var/www. Once you have done these two things, logged out, and logged back in, you will be able to modify that directory just logged in as yourself -- without having to expose the rest of the system to possible damage by logging in as root.

It's always better to use a system as it was designed to be used, rather than forcing it into an insecure imitation of a less versatile way of working...