Re[2]: [cobalt-users] URGENT: Cannot su - while being admin

[Pierre Chopot <pierre@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello List,

Monday, January 07, 2002, 11:17:45 PM, you wrote:

fin> On Mon, 7 Jan 2002, Octavio Heredia wrote:


fin> I don't think you can fix this without booting and logging in physically,
fin> unless you did something evil like letting root ssh  ;P

fin> gsh

I know this stupid question will have some easy answers but I'm not
afraid of telling the world that I don't know so I will ask it anyway
(even if it's no help to original poster):

I know perfectly well the differences between telnet and ssh and I am
only using the later one but what I don't get is why people usually
tell you (and this is what I am doing) to telnet/ssh to a box using
someuser and then su to root instead of directly doing a telnet/ssh
using root. In my understanding (which is probably where I am wrong)
in the first case you expose to the world the login/pwd of both
someuser and root and in the second case just the one from root. I am
thinking this because when you su to root, you type the root password
in your telnet/ssh console and it get sent to the remote computer
through telnet/ssh, same as if you were directly doing it to login.
(and I think the question is valid of course for telnet but also for
ssh).

And to link this with gsh's answer, is there a way to forbid root to
telnet/ssh ? (besides writing it in the law/constitution...)

Thank you for helping a beginner become a pro :-)

-- 
Regards,
 Pierre                          
 pierre@xxxxxxxxxxx