I have a root user with password and an ordinary user with a seperate password. When trying to configure fire wall ufw, it will not accept my root password. Is it to do with advanced bin/bash etc on setting up passwords and users?
4 Answers
In Ubuntu you are not expected to use a root user with a password, most applications requiring root privileges will be invoked using sudo/gksudo, the user launching those apps will need to have sudo privileges and you must use the regular user password.
You should also read https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo .
You can run as the root user by typing sudo -s
in the Terminal. You can then issue commands from that shell as the root, without any further need for a password (until you close the Terminal).
Take note though that it is generally a bad idea to use root
account for anything - sudo ufw something something_else
should do it just fine.
The password for sudo
is your own.
Well the first user (you) that has been created actually has root privileges if you type your own password. When trying to configure fire wall ufw, try adding your password, not roots password.
I have run Unix since 1972 mostly logged on as root for years at a time. Sudo is a recent development. Sudo is not a hard and fast requirement, the package can be removed and the root operator restored if you so desire. Microsoft crams "policy" down your throat. The Unix/Linux paradigm is, "Tools, Not Policy!" Unix provides users with a wide variety of tools and allows the user to select a method that works best for him. I frankly dislike sudo, and plan to remove the package very soon so I can do things in the normal manner! Notice, please, that sudo is not normal!