How to run only as root?
 

Hi. A very simple question: Has anybody the knowledge about how to log in in the GUI of Ubuntu and run everything as root without su, sudo or typing passwords? Is it even possible on Linux? Is it possible NOT to enter passwrods at all? For example on Windows you can set the password to an empty string so every time you start the computer, bang, you'r in the middle of your business (which is not administrating the computer :)). Can this be achieved on Linux in order to increase the productivity a bit?

I know many will tell that is not safe, but this isn't actually my question.

If something like this is possible on Linux, it will help me a lot.
Thank you very very much.

Suffice to say, you can do whatever you please. Doesn't mean any experienced, responsible folk are going to tell you how to if it's something as fundamentally inadviseable as you're asking.

BTW, Welcome! :cool:

You're correct. This is not safe. :) If you explained why you want to do this you could find out how to do what you want without sacrificing your security. So ... what exactly is your problem with logging in as a normal user?
jdk

Hi jdkaye.
Thanks for your concern. There is no security involved. I am running Linux in a virtual machine. There is not even my name typed in that machine. Nothing can happen. The machine will be erased in about 2 months.
Until then I want to try some stuff. This is my second time at Linux. I have tried it also in 1998.

Is just want to be able to do what I want with my own files. I am a beginner in Linux. It doesn't mean I am stupid. I feel that Linux is made NOT to help the user. I want to add a damn line in Blacklist and this took me hours due to incredible absurd security measures.

I know that some people (see the guy that posted above you) cannot understand that in some cases security is not an issues. I hope you do.

I have heard many people speaking about how magic and great the Linux community is.

I am deeply sorry to say it (and I speak for real not just to make some Linux lovers mad), I never ever imagine, this community can be so obtuse. I have never seen on a Windows forum somebody censoring information.

Jesus man. Is my virtual machine. I kill it, I restore it from a previous point. There is no credit card info in it.
No wonder now, why the Linux world is so tiny.

Perhaps if you mentioned that you were running Linux as a virtual machine in your first post,you may have got a different response.
Also the information regarding what you wanted to blacklist would have been useful.

If you find Windows and the Windows community more to your taste,go with it.
No one will be offended.

And taking that kind of attitude on any forum will not make you many friends.

I don't think it matters.

I believe is unsafe to go with the bicycle on the side of the road. You can get killed by a car. You also know that but still go with your bicycle. But I don't come to you to take your bicycle and tell you never do that. IS YOUR DECISION!

I hope you understand now how I feel after I got those answers from the the great Linux community. I never expected that from people that were supposed to be smart.

As I was careful to mention, I KNOW - I REPEAT - I KNOW is unsafe to do that. I just want to do it no matter if it is a virtual machine or not!!!!!!!!!!

The size of the "Linux world" compared to the Windows world has nothing to do with how obtuse the communities are. The reason users on a Windows forum wouldn't censor this type of information is more likely due to the fact that the majority of Windows users wouldn't see the issues involved with releasing the information if the issues were tied to a herring and slapped across their faces. I'm guessing you don't see the issues either if you believe that safeguarding your CC information is the only thing that is involved with security.

The entire security model of Linux is based upon NOT running things as root unless absolutely necessary. Microsoft knows that this is the proper way to secure a system, but instead of embracing a sane security model, they threw theirs out the window in favor of a model that would require fewer support calls regarding not being able to do something. If you truly want to learn to use Linux, then the first thing you should study is WHY the security model works the way it does and HOW to use it.

All of the things that you are trying to do can be done. If you give us more precise information about what you want to do, we will more than gladly help you figure things out. However, when you tell us that you have this great new 9mm pistol and need to know how to aim it at your head and pull the trigger because your dandruff is acting up and you need to itch it, we aren't going to tell you. Sure, you can figure it out on your own, and it will sadden us when you do. But, we won't have to blame ourselves for your demise. And, just because YOU think that your head is the only one that may get shot, we also know that the bullet has great potential to travel out of your head and into the school building filled with six-year-olds next door.

Now, ask some questions about how to go about making your system more usable while maintaining its security.

My 2 pennies,

Forrest

It is very difficult to use an empty root password. However, you can change the settings for GNOME to allow root login to the GUI. Edit "/etc/gdm.conf" (or /etc/X11/gdm/gdm.conf for older versions):

I can see where you're coming from with regard to being able to do what you want, by all means do. I don't see any censorship going on here. I'll be the first to acknowledge that there are tutorials out there detailing how to circumvent Ubuntu's policy of not allowing root logins. From my point of view though, doing that and then enabling passwordless login like you're proposing is probably not info that should be easily found by someone less prepared to accept the risks or knowledgeable enough to take appropriate measures to remove the risk, i.e. running in a VM like you intend to.

Having said all that and to hopefully prove that I'm not trying to be obtuse, I'd recommend you have a look at Puppy Linux. I believe that for some reason, an install of Puppy does run as root by default despite the widely accepted advise that this is not best practice.

@Windows_90%: I think the lesson here is that you came into a very friendly forum and made yourself an enemy. If you'd like help with something all you have to do in any forum, ESPECIALLY this one, is ask respectfully. Saying you'd like to do something, and then saying with a scoff towards people who've been doing this for years that you 'know what their advice is and don't care, you just want to do it' is not respectful.
Had you mentioned the virtual machine aspect we still would have advised against it, but someone would have given you what you were looking for. Now all you've done is start a flame column. THIS is why the linux community is so small: absent minded windows users like yourself show up and just expect answers to be thrown at your feet. Please refrain from doing so in the future.

That's all I have to say on that.

I think it is fine if people do not want to answer the original poster's question. However, posting the reason why someone does not want to answer the question

1. Irritates the original poster
2. Wastes bandwidth
3. Plants the seed for what is essentially a religious debate

Let us leave the religion to the religion forums. If you do not want to answer the question, ignore it.

Wow! A real answer to my question without being judged.
Thanks David. It is incredible how simple was to solve the problem.

I promise to delete the virtual machine after I play around a bit.
If I decide to continue to use Linux, I promise to start from an earlier point where nothing was tampered. I have 5 restore points until now, each of them absolutely safe (I just installed Java, FF3.5 and few other safe programs from their original we site).

Thanks again man for the answer but also for not judging.

OnTopic

there are many distro's that ley you run as absolute root
DSL, Tinycore, most Puppies, PartedMagic, etc

Gettng ubuntu to run as root is not easy:)

However, I DO think running as absolute root and figuring what your gonna break is a very good way to learn
IF you accept the risks to system and machine
you should not try running absolut root on your new spandangled quad-core gizmo
but if it's a $20 PC, who cares?

In a virtual machine is even better, that's why I wanted to make Portable-Qemu
basically it's portable-os and if you break it, simply go back to a cloned
qemu-img of known working order.

other day I made a 8 parttion 2000mb qemu-img
filled it with different distro's and started TRYING to break stuff so I can learn data recovery etc
great learning tool, runs off any usb too
if you want a copy 90%windows I'll drop link

I am not sure your "blacklist" question got answered.

It is quite simple to remove a module :
sudo modprobe -r <module>

Any "admin" command can be done by putting sudo
before the command.
.....