How to enable auto login as root? Ubuntu 6.06

[lokiju]

I want to setup my system for auto login as root to make it more user friendly for my SO but can't find where to enable it to do so.

I've already enabled root login without issue but seems that there isn't a way to add root to the auto login for gdmsetup.


Anyone know?

:beer:

 

[drag]

On Debian the file is /etc/gdm/gdm.conf

You can edit it manually or use the gdmsetup configuration app.

Of course this is if your using GDM for login, which I think is default for Ubuntu.

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: drag
On Debian the file is /etc/gdm/gdm.conf

You can edit it manually or use the gdmsetup configuration app.

Of course this is if your using GDM for login, which I think is default for Ubuntu.

In process of installing xgl and compiz actually but I'll see once done about editing that file.

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: lokiju

Originally posted by: drag
On Debian the file is /etc/gdm/gdm.conf

You can edit it manually or use the gdmsetup configuration app.

Of course this is if your using GDM for login, which I think is default for Ubuntu.

In process of installing xgl and compiz actually but I'll see once done about editing that file.

Good luck with XGL & compiz... I installed it on my Ubuntu setup. Took me a while to get it installed and once I did I hated it because it was extremely buggy and unstable. Then it took me a while to get back to default Gnome. Hope you have a better experience than I did!

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: Robor

Originally posted by: lokiju

Originally posted by: drag
On Debian the file is /etc/gdm/gdm.conf

You can edit it manually or use the gdmsetup configuration app.

Of course this is if your using GDM for login, which I think is default for Ubuntu.

In process of installing xgl and compiz actually but I'll see once done about editing that file.

Good luck with XGL & compiz... I installed it on my Ubuntu setup. Took me a while to get it installed and once I did I hated it because it was extremely buggy and unstable. Then it took me a while to get back to default Gnome. Hope you have a better experience than I did!

:laugh:

Well got it installed and working, booted into xgl session and tried it out. It was just way to much for my PIII laptop to handle though I guess so I just rebooted and went back to gnome.

Oh well, worth a try at least.

Once I get this Linux stuff down I may dual boot my good desktop and give it a try again since I'm sure it'll be able to handle it a little better.

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: drag
You can edit it manually or use the gdmsetup configuration app.

Of course this is if your using GDM for login, which I think is default for Ubuntu.

Woa! I've never used gdmsetup, this is pretty nice!

Thats one thing thats making it hard to learn Linux, there isn't icons for everything that it has to offer so I don't know all the stuff I'm missing!

Just takes time I guess.

 

[lokiju]

Well I updated the OP but would like to know if it's possible to auto login with the root account in ubuntu 6.06, I've enabled root login and that works fine but I don't see an option under gdmsetup to allow root.

 

[drag]

It's possible. You may have to actually edit the file though.

I'd like to point out though that logging in as root is a very very bad idea. Very bad.

What problem do you have with a regular user?

I know I got a gf using Debian and running as a regular user causes her no problem even though she is pretty clueless when it comes to computer.

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: drag
It's possible. You may have to actually edit the file though.

I'd like to point out though that logging in as root is a very very bad idea. Very bad.

What problem do you have with a regular user?

I know I got a gf using Debian and running as a regular user causes her no problem even though she is pretty clueless when it comes to computer.

Well you have a point, maybe I'll just do that.

But I'd still like to know how just for the sake of knowing.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Do not use root for day to day activities.

 

[nweaver]

there is a reason they disabled the root account...it's so the noobs learn something (coming from the "everyone is administrator" world of windows)

I learned lots, and as I reset up servers at work, I'm moving to sudo, so that I can break up who can run what commands as root, and nobody has to have the root password (although several know it)

 

[drag]

gdm looks like it's hardcoded to not allow automatic root logins.
For very good reasons, I might add.

You'd have to go and edit the source code for GDM and recompile it to make it do what you are asking.

 

[lokiju]

Interesting stance on root login usage coming from the Linux people here, guess I just never thought it to be an issue on Windows and since that's what I know, that's what I relate it to.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: lokiju
Interesting stance on root login usage coming from the Linux people here, guess I just never thought it to be an issue on Windows and since that's what I know, that's what I relate it to.

It's not just linux people, it's people that know better. And those people exist in the Windows world too.

 

[Brazen]

Originally posted by: lokiju
Interesting stance on root login usage coming from the Linux people here, guess I just never thought it to be an issue on Windows and since that's what I know, that's what I relate it to.

Any Windows sysadmin worth his salt will tell you the same thing. You don't don't use an admin account in Windows for day to day activities. Most of the time I get by with right-clicking and using "run as..." in Windows, but it's not nearly as useful as sudo.

Really, as people have said, Ubuntu made it hard to use root for a reason. If you want to make it easy on your SO, you will want her to use a regular account anyway, it will protect her from messing up the system. As a limited user, she can click around all she wants without doing anything beyond easily repairable cosmetic damage, and there isn't anything she should need to do, as a user, that would require root.

edit: ack, n0c. I type too slow.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: Brazen

Originally posted by: lokiju
Interesting stance on root login usage coming from the Linux people here, guess I just never thought it to be an issue on Windows and since that's what I know, that's what I relate it to.

Any Windows sysadmin worth his salt will tell you the same thing. You don't don't use an admin account in Windows for day to day activities. Most of the time I get by with right-clicking and using "run as..." in Windows, but it's not nearly as useful as sudo.

Really, as people have said, Ubuntu made it hard to use root for a reason. If you want to make it easy on your SO, you will want her to use a regular account anyway, it will protect her from messing up the system. As a limited user, she can click around all she wants without doing anything beyond easily repairable cosmetic damage, and there isn't anything she should need to do, as a user, that would require root.

edit: ack, n0c. I type too slow.

Slower, but nicer.

 

[cleverhandle]

Originally posted by: lokiju
Interesting stance on root login usage coming from the Linux people here, guess I just never thought it to be an issue on Windows and since that's what I know, that's what I relate it to.

Encouraging users to run as an Administrator day-to-day is the single worst security (mis)feature of Windows. It's a huge issue there, and exactly the reason why spyware, adware, viruses, and exploits are so crippling to Windows machines.

Why would you need to log in as root anyway? Ubuntu prompts you when you need privileges for an application/preference. Outside of those menu entries, there really aren't many things you could do from the desktop that require root to begin with.

 

[Nothinman]

If you want to make it easy on your SO, you will want her to use a regular account anyway, it will protect her from messing up the system.

Only partially true, if the account she's using has sudo access she can still break whatever she wants without knowing anything but her password.

 

[rasczak]

wow, I never really realized what you guys were getting at until now. So if I have a user account that I use regularly in my network at home that is a part of the domain admins group, I'm really risking a lot then? If I wanted to take those rights away from that login will that carry over to my workstation box? or will i have to kill the admin rights to the local user as well?

I hope i made sense, I'm afraid I made a booboo

 

[Mesix]

At that point, it's safe to say she has some idea what she's doing.

 

[sourceninja]

I swear to god that if people start running linux as root for day to day operations I will dedicate my life to writing viruses for linux with the sole goal of destroying these machines. There is simply only one good reason to be root and that is system maintence. There is nothing else that a user can't do that root can do. Is it really so hard to show her how to sudo? I mean most apps that require you to sudo already ask you for your password prior to running them.

 

[Nothinman]

I swear to god that if people start running linux as root for day to day operations I will dedicate my life to writing viruses for linux with the sole goal of destroying these machines.

Then you should get started because Linspire's been doing that for a while.

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

I swear to god that if people start running linux as root for day to day operations I will dedicate my life to writing viruses for linux with the sole goal of destroying these machines.

Then you should get started because Linspire's been doing that for a while.

Linux virus writing howto:
http://www.linuxsecurity.com/resource_f...n/virus-writing-HOWTO/_html/index.html

 

[sourceninja]

Wait, your telling me people actually use linspire? Thats worse then telling me people run as root.

 

[Mindflux]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
Do not use root for day to day activities.

best advice in this thread.
/thread