[ILUG] Bemused by Ubuntu install

[Brian Foster]

  | From: Patrick Stack <lists at adeptassociates.net>
  | Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 18:12:32 +0000
  |[ ... ]
  | In any case, as I was pressed for time, I decided to try Ubuntu instead
  | and installed v.5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog?) without a problem.  That is until
  | I tried suing from the command line - I suddenly realised that the
  | install never asked me for an admin password so I have no idea what it
  | is.  Is this weird of just an Ubuntu thing?

 it's less than clear, isn't it?
 I had the same issue (with Ubantu 5.06 IIRC), but was able
 to find the answer/solution using Google™.
 and the answer is trival:  the user you configured during
 the install has sudo(8) rights as superuser; so `sudo'
 when logged in as that user (with that user's password).

 the point of this fairly obvious — to provide better
 accountability for who does what as the superuser.
 unless you tinker with things, there are no mysterious
 logins/su(8)'s as “root” where you don't know who _really_
 logged in (i.e., knows the superuser password).  instead,
 you can see what account `sudo'ed, and so, in theory, who
 actually did it (assuming the it is not a shared account
 and the person in question didn't divulge her\his password,
 &tc &tc &tc).  the concept is sound, albeit I suspect the
 actual auditing facilities in Ubantu are a bit weak (i.e.,
 hard to track what really happened after the `sudo').

cheers!
	-blf-
-- 
Experienced (20+ yrs) kernel/software Eng: | Brian Foster   Montpellier,
 • Unix, embedded, &tc;  • Linux;  • doc;  | blf at utvinternet.ie   FRANCE
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