Re: Single-use root account?
On Fri, Nov 07, 2003 at 08:19:00AM -0600, Ron Johnson wrote:
> On Fri, 2003-11-07 at 07:55, J. Bruce Fields wrote:
> > Why not? They already have physical access to the machine, what more
> > would you give up to them by telling them the root password? For a home
> > computer, I don't see much reason not to just stick the root password on
> > a post-it note on the monitor.... You already trust anyone that's in a
> > position to see it.
>
> And if a not-so-trustworthy "friend" or acquaintance wanders by,
> he can destroy you.
Sure. And the attack (memorize the password, go home, ssh in and do the
dirty deed) is usually going to be easier than the attack without the
password (remove the drive, do something with it, put it back in; or, if
the BIOS is unprotected, just boot to your own floppy/cd). But I'd
still argue that in a lot of situations the root-password-on-the-monitor
is a pretty reasonable risk.
> The all-privilege sudo is the best idea, since the actions are
> audited.
Though note that the auditing is there to keep the honest honest--surely
the audit trail isn't truly secure against an user with "all-privilege
sudo".
--Bruce Fields
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