[plug] ubuntu

[Russell Steicke]

On Wed, Feb 02, 2005 at 10:14:47AM +0800, Timothy White wrote:
...
> So if we don't set a root password, what happens if the computer fails
> to boot and drops to single user mode? IIRC it prompts for root password
> to do admin work..

It's not completely unrecoverable.  You can boot off a CD, mount your
HD partitions and work on them like that.  Which is just another
implication of the adage that if the attacker (you, in this case) has
physical access to the machine, then it's "game over".

But I think that setting a _secure_ root password and editing
/etc/securetty to only  allow root logins on tty1 and console would be
better.  Doesn't stop an attacker who's not you, but does allow you to
conveniently login as root when you end up in single user mode.





-- 
Russell Steicke

-- Fortune says:
"How should I know if it works?  That's what beta testers are for.  I only
coded it."
(Attributed to Linus Torvalds, somewhere in a posting)