How to keep the user from mucking things up in 8.10

[Objekt]

I've set up a notebook to dual-boot Windows Vista and Kubuntu 8.10, for a technologically inept user. Accordingly, I don't want this user getting into anything important - which mostly means, anything requiring use of "sudo " - as she will undoubtedly break it, which means I will have to fix it, which is not good for anyone involved.

How can I set up her account so that she uses one password to log in, but must enter another password (which only I will have) to do anything requiring root access? Right now, there's only one account on the machine, so the password I set for that account is also the one you use to "sudo" or anything else requiring root-level access.

Is there anything special I need to do to limit a user's ability to break things? Kubuntu - and Linux in general - seems well-designed to keep you from doing stupid & destructive things accidentally, but then again, lusers are creative. For example, the Display Settings application does not require a password to access, and can make the GUI un-bootable.

[Snowhog]

Re: How to keep the user from mucking things up in 8.10

In the *buntu's, only the user who initially setup the system is able to gain root privileges. All other users created after installation can not gain this privilege. You would have to specifically add the user to the admin (or adm and admin) group(s).

[dibl]

Re: How to keep the user from mucking things up in 8.10

Probably the easiest thing (and too late now) would be for YOU to be the first/installing user, and then to add your friend as the second user. Only the installing user automatically gets Super User privileges -- so there would be no need to fiddle with the added user's privileges if you did it that way.

[Objekt]

Re: How to keep the user from mucking things up in 8.10

I modified things a bit, and now it's almost the way I want it.

I created an additional user called "Admin" & added him to all the groups the initial user was in. Then, I removed the initial user account from the "admin" and "adm" groups. It seems to have worked; when logged in as the initial user, I can't run Adept Installer. When I try to run it, the system tells me something like "You are not in the group sudoers" and it fails.

Is there any way to make doing certain things - running Adept Installer, for instance - require a different password than the one the user uses for login? That would mean I wouldn't have to switch users to do admin-ish things, if I'm around when the other user is using the system.

Also, can I re-order the list of users on the initial Kubuntu login screen? Right now, Admin is the default account, presumably since it comes alphabetically before the initial user account, which starts with the letter N.

[dibl]

Re: How to keep the user from mucking things up in 8.10

Heh -- you did find a way around it!

On the password thing -- well, if you haven't told your friend her password, then simply change it now, and tell her the one you change it to, not the original.

[Snowhog]

Re: How to keep the user from mucking things up in 8.10

K Menu > Leave > Switch User

[Objekt]

Re: How to keep the user from mucking things up in 8.10

That's great, but I still need to know whether there's a way to re-order the list of users on the login screen. The user is, as I said, technically inept. Further, if I were in her place, it would annoy me to have to select my name out of the list every time I logged in. Hers should be the default, since she will be using the machine 99% of the time.

If there's no way to reorder the list, I'll have to create a second administrative account, but call it something like "ZAdmin" so it isn't listed first on the login screen.

Even better - is there a way to create a hidden account? Since the end user will have no way of accessing the administrative account, there is no reason for her to even see it on the login screen. I would of course know the user name, and the password, so could log in as required.

[aged hippy]

Re: How to keep the user from mucking things up in 8.10

As she will be the most often to log-in, tick the boxes to Preselect User <Previous> and <Focus Password> on the Convenience tab.

[PeEll]

Re: How to keep the user from mucking things up in 8.10

Another way you could accomplish this without adding a second user to the system would be to update the /etc/sudoers file so that using sudo requires the root password, rather than the user's password.

You would just add "rootpw" and then she would be able to login as the only user, and use the computer, but she wouldn't be able to access sudo or root powers.

Make sure you set the root password before you try this though.

[Objekt]

Re: How to keep the user from mucking things up in 8.10

Another way you could accomplish this without adding a second user to the system would be to update the /etc/sudoers file so that using sudo requires the root password, rather than the user's password.

You would just add "rootpw" and then she would be able to login as the only user, and use the computer, but she wouldn't be able to access sudo or root powers.

Make sure you set the root password before you try this though.

That would be perfect! Root password is the one I used for the first account created on the machine, isn't it? That's what I enter whenever I need to "sudo" something.

[mchuskie]

Re: How to keep the user from mucking things up in 8.10

That would be perfect! Root password is the one I used for the first account created on the machine, isn't it? That's what I enter whenever I need to "sudo" something.

No, that's the point... you'll need to explicitly set a root password (with "sudo passwd" I do believe). Do this before you make the change to /etc/sudoers. By default there is no root password - hence nobody can log in as root.