Become a Superuser

Unlike in Windows XP, in order to perform actions that may affect your computer (such as installing software), users have to enter passwords in *nix systems (Linux, BSD, Mac OS X). This gives them some root privileges and is called becoming superuser (abbreviated to su).

Steps

Command-line su

  1. Check with your administrator if you as an ordinary user can become superuser (some admins disable it).
  2. Try typing a command which needs root access prefixed with sudo (Ubuntu uses this) then your own user password.
  3. Try typing su but separately rather than as a prefix (MEPIS and Sidux use this) then type the root password.

KDE

  1. Bring up the K Menu, go to Run, then running kdesu.
  2. If you still cannot become root, try to open a root terminal from the menu.
  3. If successful you should be prompted for a password, your own if sudo, the root password if su.
  4. Enter the password.

GNOME

  1. Place a run command applet in your GNOME panel.
  2. A root terminal will open.



Tips

  • The use of sudo may require setting up, so you can specify which commands are allowed to be run as root by which users. Using sudo is usually considered more secure than using su or logging on as root. See the following article (requires basic knowledge of Linux): [1]
  1. Activate it and run g.k.s.u. gnome-terminal.
  2. Enter your password and click OK.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Become_a_Superuser&oldid=350425"