Re: [PLUG] log as root or not ?

[Paul <paul@dpagin.net>]

> I was wondering if it was still a good idea to avoid to log as root on
> a remote computer. 
> My understanding was that it was bad because the root password goes
> through the network in clear and then it was better to log as a normal
> user and then su to root.
> It seems no more a good reason with openssh and other secure links to
> avoid to log as root.
>
> What do you think about that ?
> If it is still a bad idea, why ?
Well, if your root account somehow gets compromised, an attacker would 
also need to crack a regular user account just to get in to use the root 
account.  That gives you one more obstacle for you protection.

Also, normally you would want to avoid root unless you really need it. 
If you start off by logging in as root, it might seem more convinient 
to do everything as root.  You might just trip up.  So, protect yourself 
against your self and log in as a regular user.

Is it possible that someone could spoof your server's address, making it 
seem like you're connecting to your server with ssh while you are 
actually sending your root password to the bad guy's server?

People on list gave me a hard time about running my home system as root. 
(There was also an issue with the mailing list because my user account 
didn't match my email address.)  Since then I've been using a regular 
user account.  It's good for forming a good security habit.



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