You have sudo (or gksu) for root tasks
Maybe - but the rest of us don't accept them - this is exactly why all sorts of things can hit Windows and you may end up spreading crapI understand the dangers, and accept them.
Maybe - but the rest of us don't accept them - this is exactly why all sorts of things can hit Windows and you may end up spreading crapI understand the dangers, and accept them.
I just can't over emphasize what an incredibly bad idea it is to run in X as root. You apparently see this message often which leads me to believe you are using root to do everyday user tasks, as one would in Windows.I get a message warning me about running as root. I understand the dangers, and accept them.
I will attempt to clarify this for you to a certain extent. I will not however, turn this thread into a how-to for taking a computer. If what I say to you is not sufficient to convince you, so be it. I don't need for you to believe me enough to give specific instructions and workable code.I would like to know how it is possible for someone to take over my machine, because I am running as root, and in a way that would not work if I were not running as root. I need to be convinced it's possible, and that includes details.
This is back asswards, so-to-speak. The exploits of today are much more sophisticated and widespread than they were in the past. To say that there is less risk now than there has been in the past is just plain wrong headed. The vast majority of the computers that make up bot-nets are individual home computers. Yes, 99% of them are Windows boxes, but that is only because they are more common and easier to break into. All that will change as Linux becomes more and more popular and new users insist on running in root.But you may not be aware that there are a large number of people who believe that, while it was once a problem, it no longer is, and there is no longer any need for the home computer user to avoid running as root.