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Re: Why should non-root users have a password?



Tom wrote:
If I have a firewall, and I'm the only person who uses my computer, do I really have to have a password on my non-root account?

I know the answer is "yes" but -- why? They can't do anything to my machine anyway, except use it. And due to the firewall that never happens anyway.

What happens if somebody soon exploits some so-far-unknown weakness in your firewall or your kernel setup or your various running services? You password will be there as another line of defense -- provided it is a "good" password. If you are connected to the net it would not wise to disable passwords -- more so if you are connected through a high speed modem.

->HS

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