I have no time for Ubuntu

[milomak]

I thought I should let my feelings be known on the world's favourite Linux distro.

It mainly stems from its handling of the root user. The fact that it doesn’t have one. And the fact that when I last used it, even creating one didn’t give me the same security feeling other distros do.

The other thing is probably due to having used Linux for a long time. But the fact it is always supposedly heralded as the easiest Linux to use. Again from my experiences it is not significantly different to any other Linux distro I have used.

Flame away or agree.

 

[icyrus]

Umm, sudo passwd?

 

[AutoX]

okey dokey

 

[Kasyx]

To be honest, Ubuntu is perfect for simple, desktop use. It is quick to install and configure and that is what attracts me to it. But by no means do I suggest installing it as your firewall

It may not be the most secure distro around, but it is still infinitely more secure than Windows.

 

[Kloon]

milomak you can enable the root account, you know that hey? But login in under a root account is not good security wise.

 

[icyrus]

To be honest, Ubuntu is perfect for simple, desktop use. It is quick to install and configure and that is what attracts me to it. But by no means do I suggest installing it as your firewall

It may not be the most secure distro around, but it is still infinitely more secure than Windows.

What security concerns do you have about ubuntu?

 

[w1z4rd]

sudo su

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo

 

[Kloon]

You security depends on how you set it up.

 

[mccrack]

sudo su

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RootSudo

Indeed, was just about to say that.

My only gripe ever was that the upgrade from 7.10 to Hardy Beta didnt go as well as planned and caused a few hours of tinkering ... but it was beta and i knew the risks

 

[milomak]

milomak you can enable the root account, you know that hey? But login in under a root account is not good security wise.

And the fact that when I last used it, even creating one didn’t give me the same security feeling other distros do.

yep

 

[Kasyx]

What security concerns do you have about ubuntu?

I don't, I am merely responding to milomak's security worries.

 

[milomak]

What security concerns do you have about ubuntu?

On all other distros I run my normal account has no sudoer rights. And it is highly restricted. Which lets me allow automatic login at boot. The fact that I have an account with sudoer rights leaves me uncomfortable.

And the last time I used kubuntu (late last year) I actually follwed that link to setup a root account. Then I had an issue with my normal user account. So I deleted the user directory (something I do with impunity on other distros) and it just caused me grief to get the system up and running again. Not an issue I had with other distros.

It just didn’t work out well for me.

 

[chiskop]

My regular user account is part of the sudo group - but always requires a login whether powering up, waking up or dismissing the screen saver.

I always have another guest type account that allows automatic login, for anyone else using the computer.

 

[Skeptik]

The other thing is probably due to having used Linux for a long time. But the fact it is always supposedly heralded as the easiest Linux to use. Again from my experiences it is not significantly different to any other Linux distro I have used.

Flame away or agree.

Agree. It is hyped as something great but under the bonnet, it's just another flavour of Linux and as you say, little different.

I would say that it is probably not the easiest to install either.

If you have a root fetish, you could always try real UNIX

 

[icyrus]

On all other distros I run my normal account has no sudoer rights. And it is highly restricted. Which lets me allow automatic login at boot. The fact that I have an account with sudoer rights leaves me uncomfortable.

So remove your user from the admin group or change the sudoers file? Thats not really such a big deal is it?

And the last time I used kubuntu (late last year) I actually follwed that link to setup a root account. Then I had an issue with my normal user account. So I deleted the user directory (something I do with impunity on other distros) and it just caused me grief to get the system up and running again. Not an issue I had with other distros.

It just didn’t work out well for me.

I've never heard of this before, granted I don't use ubuntu much. What sort of problems did it cause?

If you have a root fetish, you could always try real UNIX

Like OS X?

 

[Kasyx]

Like OS X?

pwnt.

 

[orin76]

You have to respect Ubuntu for what it has accomplished for the Linux brand, but as a distro, it's really nothing special. It's no easier to use than Fedora, Suse or any other distro (except maybe Debian ).

 

[koffiejunkie]

... root user. The fact that it doesn’t have one.

It has one with a randomly generated password. Check:

$ sudo grep root /etc/passwd

The fact that I have an account with sudoer rights leaves me uncomfortable.

$ sudo vi /etc/sudoers

And the last time I used kubuntu (late last year) I actually follwed that link to setup a root account.

You don't need any kind of 'setup' - all you need to do is:

$ sudo passwd root

DISCLAIMER: I'm no fan of Ubuntu either. I use Real Debian™

 

[milomak]

I used setup in the loose sense of the word.

icyrus – as I say I deleted the normal user account (having enabled the root account). On reboot it failed during the boot sequence. Can’t remember the exact details of the error but had something to do with having deleted the user account.

 

[koffiejunkie]

I used setup in the loose sense of the word.

I just followed the link that w1z4rd posted and found a huge article on how to do this - completely unneccessary since you can do it with a one-liner. I based my comment on that.