[ale] Linux Distributions

[Jerald Sheets]

There have been instances where an application install was able to  
detect that I was not actually root and would not install.  In this  
case I can understand.

I won't argue the  matter either.  Lots of people with many more  
letters behind their name say it is the BEST practice to never run as  
root.  I, therefore, (having no letters behind my name) decide to err  
with the best and brightest in the country and do what they say.   
These are the people who write the software (and in some cases wrote  
UNIX) and have instructed me to do so.

You are certainly within your rights to ignore them.  This is not a  
flamewar unless you make it so.

It is not a matter of being "convinced"  it is a matter that I have  
been educated otherwise from EXTREMELY early in my career (nearly 20  
years ago) that this is the way it is done, and MOST security  
personnel, education firms, UNIX companies, etc. instruct to do so.   
I'm just not willing to assume  I know better than them.


Jerald M. Sheets jr.
Sr. UNIX Systems Administrator
McKesson, Inc.
404.293.8762


On May 17, 2005, at 12:12 PM, ChangingLINKS.com wrote:

> On Tuesday May 17 2005 07:53, you wrote:
>
>> On May 17, 2005, at 8:20 AM, James Sumners wrote:
>>
>>> 3. Don't run as root.
>>>
>>
>> Ever.  Under any circumstances(or only as directed via install
>> instructions, but even those can often be done via other means).
>>
>> Pull down sudo (if it's not already installed by default), learn the
>> config, and use it instead.  It's considerably safer, and adheres to
>> best practices.
>>
>> Jerald M. Sheets jr.
>> Sr. UNIX Systems Administrator
>> McKesson, Inc.
>> 404.293.8762
>>
>
> I am not going to have this "root" argument/flamewar on this thread.
> There IS a case where one can run as root all of the time safely.\
>
> For those that understand that, probably already know how.
> Those that don't usually cannot be convinced otherwise.
> -- 
> Wishing you Happiness, Joy, and Laughter,
> Drew Brown
> http://www.ChangingLINKS.com
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