[ale] Linux Distributions

[Chris Ricker]

On Tue, 17 May 2005, Jim Popovitch wrote:

> > there's no rationale for running as root.  
> 
> Sure there is.  You may not see it however.

There is. There's just not a good rationale :-)

> > Become root - or sudo - when you need to; the rest of 
> > the time, don't.  Otherwise, running as root without problems is just a 
> > matter of luck.  How you have things configured really doesn't make too 
> > much difference when a sleep-deprived session leads you to inadvertently 
> 
> What's the difference between "sudo mkfs /dev/hda8" and runing
> "mkfs /dev/hda8" as root?   

the difference is that if you're logged in as root, bugs in $email_client 
/ $web_browser / 
$all_the_other_stupid_little_apps_you_use_but_which_dont_need_root_access 
can potentially do "mkfs /dev/hda8". They can't do "sudo mkfs /dev/hda8" 
(unless you misconfigured sudo).

This is ultimately the same reason we don't need anti-virus scanning to 
protect Linux desktops. If you run your desktop as root, you need a/v 
protection and all the other pains Linux doesn't have that 
non-compartmentalized OSes do have....

later,
chris