Deleting a User & System Updates

I have 2 Users on a recently-installed openSUSE 11.0 install. Both are myself (made two Users due to oversight during & after install). They are:

User ‘abc’ - a ‘Normal’ user
User ‘xyz’ - with ‘root’ user previliges

Since I don’t need 2 users, I want to delete the user ‘abc’ (‘normal user’).
All the updates (the openSUSE 11.0 is just now d/ling & installing updates) that I have installed for oSUSE 11.0 after logging in as ‘abc’ (Normal User) (but had to supply (authenticate) the root p/w before the update took place).

  • Are the updates to the Operating System applied on a system-wide basis (i.e. irrespective of User) ?
  • If yes, (ie all updates are available/applied for all users), then will the system remain updated after I delete the ‘normal’ user ‘abc’?

Of course, I will back-up user ‘abc’ 's files into a separate folder before deleting that account.

Thanks,

updates are system-wide so it shouldn’t affect any other users

Andy

Tried to delete ‘abc’, (after logging-in as ‘xyz’) through ‘Users & Group Management’ of YAST Control Center. But there was Error Message -

"You cannot delete this user, because the user is currently logged in. Log the user out first."

Tried logging in from the gnome terminal as ‘su’ (root) and then going to yast from there to delete User ‘abc’. But the same error message was displayed.

How can I delete ‘abc’ (‘Normal’ user)?

you can temporarily log in as root at the log-in screen.then delete the user.

Andy

> User ‘abc’ - a ‘Normal’ user
> User ‘xyz’ - with ‘root’ user previliges
>
> Since I don’t need 2 users, I want to delete the user ‘abc’ (‘normal
> user’).

requiring you to always log in as root?
which bypasses all the security safe guards, just like in Windows[tm]?

so, if you DO get cracked as user instead of boxing the culprit into
user space only, you automatically give the entire machine over to
the cracker??

that is one way to increase the number of opensoftware-bots to
complement the millions of winbots/zombies pumping out tons of spam
etc without their owners being aware…

not to mention, that anyone can sit down at your computer and delete
the entire operating system (everything actually) with one, very
short command…


DenverD (Linux Counter 282315) via NNTP, Thunderbird 2.0.0.14, KDE
3.5.7, SUSE Linux 10.3, 2.6.22.18-0.2-default #1 SMP i686 athlon

User ‘xyz’ with ‘root’ privileges!! This is a gross error and very dangerous. You should only have the user ‘root’ with root privileges. And you should normaly work with a ‘normal’ user.

Installed openSUSE 11.0 (first Linux distro) for first time. So, by error, made 2 user accounts during the installation.

Have deleted ‘abc’. On logging in as ‘xyz’, it still asks for the root p/w (& to Login as same) - so it is not a ‘root’ acct & just a normal user acct…apparently was mistaken about ‘xyz’ being a ‘root’ acct.

I now understand better what you mean.

User xyz has the same password as root. This does not mean that it has root facilities!

It is a feature (??) of the 11.0 installation to give one and the same password to root and the user you enter during installation. I would strongly suggest you take a different password for at least one of them (using the passwd command).

> Have deleted ‘abc’. On logging in as ‘xyz’, it still asks for the root
> p/w (& to Login as same) - so it is not a ‘root’ acct & just a normal
> user acct…apparently was mistaken about ‘xyz’ being a ‘root’ acct.

ok…for the life of me i can’t understand why ‘they’ would make
both root and user have the same password as the DEFAULT 11.0
install…but, ‘they’ did (is there NO adult supervision)…

anyway, pick a nice and secure root password…mine is from
<https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm> and looks kinda like:

ZS1y=;%#X

which is not so hard to remember since i have it on a sticky note
stuck to the monitor :wink:


DenverD (Linux Counter 282315) via NNTP, Thunderbird 2.0.0.14, KDE
3.5.7, SUSE Linux 10.3, 2.6.22.18-0.2-default #1 SMP i686 athlon