Understanding SU - Installing and Configuring SUDO | Unixmen

SSgt Mark Lines - I never knew "sudo" came later after "su". Must've been a pain logging in as root to do a few tasks and having to remember to log out when you no longer need root access.

SGT (Join to see) - SUDO was originally released as a way to automate the SU command. For example, I would add the following to my sudoers file: linesma ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL This would allow me to use SUDO in place of SU and I would not have to type in my password. I could now run any command line task using SUDO without entering my password.

EXAMPLE:
Originally, to install an rpm package with the terminal, I would type:
su ~ (Then my password. This would take me to the home folder of the SU account)
rpm –ivh packagename.rpm
I would then exit out of the terminal, and all permissions were reset. After modifying my sudoers file, I could just open a terminal and type:
sudo rpm –ivh packagename.rpm
This would install the package without the need for entering in a password or changing the account to admin. I would still have to input my password to install files from the GUI file installer.

Ubuntu caused a stir when they released because they disabled the ability to switch to your SU account in the terminal, and forced you to use SUDO instead. They also disabled the ability to log into an Admin account during login as well, but that is a whole other issue. At the time, this was seen as making a system less secure and many resisted it. I personally thought it was great, even if it took a little bit to remember the syntax. Now this setup has become the standard for most distros out there.

SSgt Mark Lines - I think that's the most interesting thing I'll learn all week. Thanks for that.

SGT (Join to see) - No worries.