Is it ok if I always log in as root and not as a common user?
I'm the only person who uses this computer so I have two accounts, one of them, the root.

Another thing: Do you recommend any good firewall for Linux?

Thanks!

if i hack u on line i become the user i hacked.

You can, but be careful what you do, especially at the command line.


Linux has a firewall sub-system called iptables which is part of Kernel 2.4

You can take a look at the documentation and tutorials on Netfilter / iptables
http://www.netfilter.org/

There are also GUIs which can help you setup iptables.
http://firestarter.sourceforge.net/
http://www.fwbuilder.org/
http://www.ipcop.org/

Pre-made scripts are also available
http://firegate.sourceforge.net/
http://www.shorewall.net/

Best not to, just do "su" whenever necessary, a simple command like "rm -rf /" as root then you're screwed.
A normal user can pretty much do anything he needs to, in most cases you only need su when you want to install applications globally or
modify system configuration, which I suppose shouldn't be something you do very often.

As far ar Netfilter / iptables look into shorewall for webmin.

Netfilter / iptables can be a pain to setup i can do it in 4min with shorewall and webmin.

I think i'd better log in as a common user.
But I have already configured the root (color schemes, mouse speed and all that). How can I make the configurations I have made on root be available for all user on the machine?

Depending on the window manager you use, the configuration files resides in different directories. These directories are usually hidden, starts with a period and stored in the home directory of the user(usually /root for root).
For kde you probably need to copy all the .kde* directories to the user's home folder, then do a chown on them, I'm not exactly sure whether kde uses other places to store them.

never tried to login as root, REMEMBER DO NOT LOG IN AS ROOT.
If you want to do something as root just su in the machine when you already login by another user.

I will never allow myself to login as root, i will su to root when i am already logging in.

I log in as root and use root every day, like i wana type - su every time i wana do something...... I am that lazy.

I was logged in as root earlier, and I tried to run an IRC application, and I got a message saying something like "This is very stupid!"...lol. What do I know, I'm a noob

I've heard alot of people say do not log in as root, and some put it as eloquently as ' if i hack u on line i become the user i hacked.', but I have really yet to hear a sound argument against doing so. I guess what I'm trying to ask is, what IS so wrong with logging in as root? Besides being able to really screw up a system yourself.

Yeah, that's what I wanna know too.

Anyway, I'll try to configure the other user with the same color scheme, mouse speed and all, as root.
I hope I find those hidden files hehe :P

Well, if that's not a problem for you.......

It's a security / time / convenience thing:

(in about that order)

1) Like enyawix said - if he hacks you as root, you need to reformat and reload your box (when / if you detect you're 0wn3d - root has access to all logs, so if he's discreet it may be a while before you notice). If he hacks you on a user account, he can't do much.
If someone needs root access, they have to know two passwords - one to logon as Khanlinsar and then another to su to root. Belt & braces. Root shouldn't be able to log on straightaway.

2) If you screw up as a user, you've just altered a few (user-specific) settings and lost a couple of files. It's easy to fix or simply remove the user / recreate the account.
Root is god, as far as linux is concerned. Especially when starting out, screwing up as root often means a reload of the whole OS, which is a pain. You spend several hours getting so far, tweak the settings to where you want them, and then the screwup sends you back to the start.

3) Having to "su" every time you need to change something major makes you think before you act, and possibly check the man pages "just to make sure". It takes 2 seconds to do, so it's not that big a deal.
While you're setting up the box & for occasional maintenance root is handy, but for most day-to-day stuff, you don't need root access.

If you still want to use root, at least alias "rm" to "rm -i"

what is this about sueing and logging in as root how do you log in as root im getting linux in a few days and I was wondering.

"su" -switch user. Enter it at a terminal prompt to switch from one user to the other: i.e

frogman@mybox$: su
Password: *********
root@mybox#:

su defaults to root.

if I wanted to switch to Joe's account I'd enter:

frogman@mybox$: su joe
Password: *********
joe@mybox$:

"root" is the linux superuser, same as "administrator" in Windows. If you're root you can do anything. Generally you logon as root to do system maintenance, but do everyday stuff in a normal user account (frogman).

While you're waiting for Linux, you might want to have a look here - www.tldp.org - lots of useful stuff.