Hi,
Now am trying to be friendly with debian, i am an ubuntu user. I want to login in gui as root in debian 6. i have changed the password by "sudo passwd root". bur not able to login as root. please help is there any other changes will be made or it is not possible. one more thing i have not found is "add remove programs" or "synamptic pakg manager". which is must for me to install application without downloading seperate installers.

Thanks
Umesh

debian isn't so bad! I love it!

First issue - root logging into X:
You should determine if you are using KDM, GDM, XDM, or something else. Which ever one you have, there is a configuration option that is either "allow root login" or "deny logins with UID's less than X." Once we know which display manager you are using, it will be simple as pie to allow root to login.


Next issue - graphical package management:
open a terminal, su to root, then run aptitude. Aptitude is in many ways a text based version of synaptic.
1) / this brings up a search box
2) synaptic to search for this package enter
3) look at the bottom half of the screen for the description. If this is what you need, then + to mark for installation. If not, then n for the next match
4) g to "go". You will probably see a bunch of stuff in green. These are dependencies. hit g again to do it.
It will first download, then unpack, then setup, then triggers (basically scripts)

I STRONGLY suggest you also install "packagesearch", but you can do this after you get the more familiar synaptic installed.

If you are using GNOME type the following in a Terminal(Applications>Accessories>Terminal):
Them move to the Security tab and click the checkbox that says "Allow local system administrator login".

You could also open the same dialog by Clicking System>Administation>Login Window

Don't login as root in the GUI, use su or sudo for admin tasks.

Kind regards

Additionally, you might have to use kdesudo (or whatever the equivalent is under the GNOME desktop environment) to use X-applications via sudo.

Furthermore, there's a reason that Debian defaults to not letting root login to a GUI, it's a brainscreamingly bad idea.

I finally found a post where the root login question was answered without an immediate slap in the face! Am I angry? I am! It wasn't even this post that helped my quest but I remember the day when we had the option of logging in as root or auto-ing in even with all the warnings. This choice was taken away unless an avid search is taken place and I mean AVID! Trying to find a way to do this is a Bitch! because 99% of the replies are "Don't" and "You shouldn't!" and on and on.

WHY? We may break our system? It's best way to learn what not to do. Are you worried we may send you an infected email? Then I suggest you worry about protecting yourself more. This rant is directed at days and days of posts reading "Thou shalt not login or- auto login as Root". It's exhausting! Just tell me how to do it and let me fail then.

Linux was about choice but I have to say powers that be seem to be taking that away from us. Since anyone can change linux, I fear the wrong hands are shaping things (sigh).

Check out e17 or Puppy for more of what was. E17 may have all the root restrictions in place but it doesn't suffer from too much eye candy and is blazing fast. Puppy allows superuser so that too says something.

It took me a long while to find a way to auto login as root- this is on my own machine. I had to say bye bye to gdm or kdm and startx /opt/e17/bin/enlightenment_start in .bashrc and then some but I'm now booting directly into e17! Yay! for pro-choice!

Sorry if I sound negative but hours of googling with no help can do that to ya.

Again, it was refreshing to see after so many the first answers being answers and not, warnings.

So I have to protect myself more, because you don't want to? I am protected well enough, but that doesn't hinder my e-mail address being spammed from machines like yours. Other people don't want to be DDOSed from machines like yours. That is the point, I don't care if you break your system or not, I don't want to be spammed from zombie PCs whose users think they have to do everything as root.

In which way relates the speed of E17 to your topic?

In fact, Puppy forces you to do everything as root. It is not multiuser-ready. Where is the choice you speak of there?

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[ How to login and play as root user on Debian-6 .]

I am a novice who wanted to login as "root" on Debian like yourself.
I have Google-ed "How can I login as root on Debian?" and arrived at
your thread here. I see no one gave straight answer. So I tried in
my novice way. This is a note to novices from a novice who love to
mess about within own computer. I got it working by try and error
with at least of fiddlings. No messing of original script files involved.
I din't know if everything is working as it should do but it is good for
my day to day works.


You need to use Application-->Accessories-->RootTerminal. If you had mc installed to do these is easy but they stop installing the mc as default.
If you don't know what the mc(MidnightCommander) is you should find out
and install it.

1) edit a line in the /etc/inittab as:

id:2:initdefault: --> id:1:initdefault:

2) go to /etc/rc1.d `mkdir` BAK and copy all the link files in there
into it for safe keeping.

3) delete: @S01killprocs, @K01cups and @K01network-manager

4) copy: @S18dbus, @S19network-manager. @S20cups and @S18gpm
from /etc/rc2.d into /etc/rc1.d.

When you reboot and type your root-password, then `startx`... you would
be on your root-home desktop.

I hope this may help your need. But what ever happens at your own risk,
OK? "Happy messing about!"---godoten

PS: You should try out the "full install to hard disk drive" of
Puppy-linux. You are always root-user on this distro. The latest
one is called "Slacko-531" but I would chose "Lupu-528" for it's
stability and the choice of soft-wares in it's "install" program.

Also check out what in the link:
There someone says "No one have to die. You are not supposed to die.".
http://tenpage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/en/welcome.html

It would be much easier (and you have network connection) to just press Ctrl+Alt+F1. You will go to virtual terminal where you can login as root. To go back to the GUI just press Alt+F7.
You can also start a terminal in GUI and issue the command, then type in your root password and you are logged in as root in the terminal.

Dear umalik712,

In the case you are new to "mc" I should have said in 4):

{Before you start copying these:
In /etc/rc1.d make directory "BAK" by pressing F7-key and typing "BAK"
and "Enter". On left column open the "BAK" directory, on the right column
/etc/rc1.d and copy the lot for safe keeping for the case you may need
to know what was originally there....by:

in the right column(/etc/rc1.d) press "Ctrl-*" you find all file names became
yellow, then press "F5-key" and "Enter" now you find all files are copied to
left column(/etc/rc1d/BAK).}

From happy newbie,---godoten
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear TobiSGD,

I guess you are right. But I think what umalik712 want is "No more of su nor sudo"
to do as I wanted.

I hope you have checked out the link:
http://tenpage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/en/welcome.html
also. That would chang your view about your life!

"Happy experting!",---godoten

Then he can log into a virtual terminal, as I have explained. Messing with inittab and the init-scripts is not a thing to recommend to a newbie, especially since you don't know what you are doing there. Copying those links to runlevel 1 (by the way, Debian starts per default to runlevel 2, not 5) is a no-go.
Runlevel 1 is for system maintenance only, it is essential to not have unnecessary daemons running in it.

I don't believe in this new-age stuff.

The best way to learn is by trial-and-error, that's true. But it can be done in a structured environment where one's mistakes don't end with critical problems. I mean I could go try to see if I can fly, But just in case I can't ... I'm going to bring a parachute. I am not that bright when it comes to linux, and I enjoy the fact that it can secure itself from me on somethings (you can still do it...Debian just made it a little tough).

This whole topic was asked earlier, And not only was the way to login to root in debian GUI disclosed, But so where the security risks and even analogies! If you would like to view that thread it is HERE for reading. (NOTE: it does not get to the GUI issue until post #6, as it was generally thought the poster just wanted to login as root with su or sudo)

Dear TobiSGD,

I hope you don't mind that we are only messing in our own computers in
our homes. Or does it mess anyone else's computer system? If that is the
case I am sure that we must not do so. If it is the case would you tell me
"how it could damage other's system?"....? I would appreciate if you could
teach us which file of /etc/init.d/* must not be linked from /etc/rc1.d/* for
what reason?

The truth is offered free but it is such that "surrender or die". I hope you
take it serious for your own life's chance sake. It can not be my business
if you do or not, though.

"Happy experting!",---godoten

I know this was addressed to tobi,
But I think he's just trying to adhere to the fact that people should maintain a good security front on their own machines, So that further down the road, they don't have to spend 2 weeks looking for the 1 line they changed in a file, Just so they could login to something as root when they really didn't have too. My understanding is that if you log into GUI as root, you will essentially be opening everything as root ... and one of the first things everyone is told is to make another user account because doing everything in root is a fine way to #*%$ up.

Simple as that, if you log into GUI as root, every application that you start will do so with root rights. Every script-kiddie that uses an exploit in your browser, when run as root, has full access to your system. It is very easy to now install programs that can be used to either spam us with Viagra-mails or, worse, that can be used for DDOS attacks to other machines. Or, simpler, a keylogger to read out your passwords while typing. The attacker also has no problems to read all the data on your machine.

None of them should be linked to runlevel one. As I said before, runlevel one is for system maintenance and recovery, and none of the services is necessary for that. To run those services can even be counterproductive when searching for a security breach that is caused by one of that services. If you really want to login as root, maybe for installing software via apt-get/aptitude, you can:
1. Press Ctrl+Alt+F1 to login as root on a virtual terminal.
2. Shut down the GUI with su -c '/etc/init.d/gdm stop' an login as root.
3. Use su/sudo/sux/gksu/kdesu to become root or start single applications as root.
4. Start an application that needs root-privileges via GUI. You will be asked to setup a keyring. If you do that you only have to type in the password once per session.

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