Re: Sudo

[David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk>]

On Thu 24 Mar 2016 at 09:42:51 (-0400), Stefan Monnier wrote:
> > Or simply "sudo bash --login"
> > I haven't needed to use root login for years,
> 
> In which sense is this not a "root login"?

You don't log in. You don't get the shell specified in /etc/passwd.
You're just running bash as a login shell, ie it starts up differently.

> Or would "su -" not be considered a root login either?

No.

> What about "ssh root@localhost"?

Yes. Type w and you'll see the time at which you just logged in.

Try all these methods as an ordinary user. Then touch /etc/nologin
and try them again. Shells work, logins don't.

Cheers,
David.