I am posting here since I am not sure where else to post.
When I open certain applications, YaST for example, I am asked for the root password. Any way to cancel that?
I don’t want to be asked the password every time after I already logged in.
On 04/04/2013 05:36 PM, zelivans wrote:
>
> I am posting here since I am not sure where else to post.
> When I open certain applications, YaST for example, I am asked for the
> root password. Any way to cancel that?
> I don’t want to be asked the password every time after I already logged
> in.
yours is a fairly common question posed by folks very new to
Linux…so, -=WELCOME=- new user
now to your question: no, it is not really easy to do away with
providing the root password AND maintain the extra security and
stability which comes from having a multi-user system where the user
and the administrator have different access rights…
and, while you may believe me now, you really do want to keep those
two different functions separate…
if you are finding a need to use YaST often, then give your root
password the first time it is asked and then instead of shutting down
that first YaST window which opens (YaST Control Center), just drop
it down out of sight…and then next time you need YaST just bring it
back into focus–no password required…
that way you have some security, without needing to give the root
pass every time you need YaST . . .
by the way, when you log in there are already TWO (at least) users on
your system: yourself, and root…and, to “become root” and do the
administrator’s duties you need to give the password to ‘prove’ to
the system’s internals that you are authorized to do whatever it is
you wanna do…
> I don’t want to be asked the password every time after I already logged
> in.
You really do. You just need to train your brain to think that way.
It’s sort of like being glad that the cashier checked your ID before
processing your credit card. A little annoying, but at least if your card
is stolen they wouldn’t get past the cashier. Fortunately computers
are much more rigorous than cashiers. I think cashiers check for ID about
1 in 20 times, which of course is great for passing stolen cards.
You know who you are, but the person processing the transaction doesn’t.
In this case the computer is ‘just checking’. It’s good design.
Imagine someone walked over and un-installed kdm or gdm, then you will be left with a broken system. You can un-install OS components unlike some other OSes. 
Hence we have a layer of security around the installer. They have gone one step further and in GNOME3.X you cannot delete files by pressing delete key alone in Nautilus(File Manager).
On 2013-04-04 17:36, zelivans wrote:
> When I open certain applications, YaST for example, I am asked for the
> root password. Any way to cancel that?
No, fortunately.
–
Cheers / Saludos,
Carlos E. R.
(from 12.1 x86_64 “Asparagus” at Telcontar)
On Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:36:03 +0000, zelivans wrote:
> When I open certain applications, YaST for example, I am asked for the
> root password. Any way to cancel that?
Arguably, yes, it is possible (Linux is open source and a system could be
modified to remove that requirement - though it might require modifying
the source of security components in the system) - but it’s a very, very,
VERY bad idea. You might just as well login to the GUI as root (which
itself can cause serious issues with the system).
Do some reading on something called the “Principle of Least
Privilege” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_least_privilege is
a good starting point) to understand why this is considered a very bad
practice - and why using only the minimum rights necessary to do the task
you’re doing is considered a best practice.
Jim
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C