[Frugalware-forums] Re: Logging in as root

[richard]

Thanks for the replies.

So the point with root seems to be to try to limit what is running as root.  From my own knowledge and the replies in this thread, I would have to say the two main reasons would be software bugs and that humans make mistakes.

Both reasons seems to verify why one shouldn't log directly into the GUI as root.  First, the number of root-owned processes started by such a login would increase the chance of a software bug damaging the system.  Second, the chance of the user accidentally damaging the system would significantly increase.

As for directly logging into the text-based interface (what one gets if the do something like CTRL+ALT+F1) as root.  Only the chance of the user accidentally damaging the system seems to increase.  (I believe such a login only results in one additional root-owned process - much like with su).

So this seems to verify the notion of only using su and sudo to gain root privileges.  However, if one wishes to login solely just to configure the system, logging in through a text-based interface (like on CTRL+ALT+F1) as root should be perfectly secure. 

Feel free to comment on this further.