Re: dangerous to leave root logged in?

From: s. keeling (keeling_at_spots.ab.ca)
Date: 03/29/05 

Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 23:02:33 GMT

hans_schulze98@yahoo.de <hans_schulze98@yahoo.de>:
>
> Sorry, I wasn't precise enough. I meant: No untrusted user has physical
> access.
>
> The regular users actually all have physical access (that's the only
> access), but in this special case they are all trustworthy (as people).
> This is of course not how Unix admins usually think; usually all users
> are considered untrustworthy. Probably that's why everyone here tells
> me to minimize time root stuff runs.

They're all trying to tell you something that ought to be obvious to
you by now. When you're logged in as root, it's as if you're walking
around with a lit stick of dynamite in each hand. This is not
something that any sane person wants to do longer than he has to.

<ENTER>

"Hmm. Now why is that command taking so long to finish? OH ***!"

Perhaps you're one of those people who simply needs to experience it
(and pay for it with long hours spent resurrecting the system in the
wee hours of the night with users and managers pounding on you to
hurry up) before you'll understand the wisdom they're throwing at you?

Got backups? Are they good backups? Are you sure? Have you tested
recovering them? Have you tested recovering the whole system using
them?

You do what you want. Don't say nobody warned you. 

-- 
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
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