Linux Mint Forums

Every time I do somthing it asks for a password im tired of it. Can I stop it

There are ways to stop it, but the point of those password prompts are to make your computer more secure.
I do not know how to disable the prompts, I just wanted to let you know why they are there. I am sure you could find it with a google search.

Try going to Login Window, the security tab, check enable automatic login.

EDIT: Ooops, I should read slower.

coddy41 wrote:Every time I do somthing it asks for a password im tired of it. Can I stop it

The short answer is no. Those prompts are there for system security. It's one of the reasons Linux isn't infested with viruses like Windows is.

What I usually do is make my password 1 character in length until I get all my apps installed and everything configured the way I want it. Then I reset it to something more secure.

coddy41,

Here is another thread along the same lines. As you can see I never got an answer to my last post. I'll leave it to your imagination why that is.

http://www.linuxmint.com/forum/viewtopi ... 90&t=18459

It just isn't wise to run X in Root.

Fred

I don't like constantly being asked for my password. I am the only person who uses my computer. Is there any way that I can configure Mint so that I login with my password on startup, but then it never asks me for it again during the session?

I think Fred tried to provide an answer to this a while back, but it did not work and now I can't find his post.

Thanks.

Gumby:

I think Fred would have tried to convince you not to run as root (which is what you want to do). This is very dangerous. Any malware that might get into your system while you are running as root will acquire root privileges from you. It can then go anywhere in your system, install itself and grant itself run permission. Without root privileges the malware would be confined to the relevant input cache and would not be able to run.

Entering your password before you do anything that can affect the basic operation of you computer is one of the strongest security measures available to a user. You should try to live with it rather than run as root. If you want to run as root, you may as well go back to Windows where you automatically run as administrator - the Windows equivalent of root. That is one of the biggest reasons Windows as so many security issues.

coddy41 wrote:Every time I do somthing it asks for a password im tired of it. Can I stop it

you might as well be running windows then...

In reality, Linux only asks for a password when you perform administrative tasks. And normally this isn't 'every time you do something'. For example, how many times do you install an application, or change system time? Normal tasks performed as the normal user *do not* require a password. It is a security feature, not an annoyance.

If you must have such an insecure setup, please use Windows... that way your bad experiences won't be on Linux Besides, in Windows, this 'feature' comes standard out of the box. You won't have to set it up!

Aging Technogeek,

Oh, I did not realize that what I want constitutes running as root. Well, ok, but every time I run Synaptic it asks for my password. Every time I run Truecrypt, after I enter the Truecrypt password, I then have to enter my Linux password as well. Is all this really necessary to maintain security? I mean, isn't the Truecrypt password enough? If any malware is smart enough to figure out my Truecrypt password, wouldn't it be smart enough to also detect my Linux password?

Gumby:

You can, of course do whatever you desire. If you want to end the constant requests for your password, go to Administration=>Mint Assistant (be warned- you will be asked for your password) and enable Root Account Password. Enter your password in the boxes provided. Now, whenever you log in, you will log in as root. This is extremely dangerous, but if it is your choice , you should know how to do it.

After all, Linux is about freedom of choice.

Good luck and remember, the forum members are always willing to help if you get into too much trouble to get yourself out of (lord knows, they've helped me enough times).

Geek,

Thanks. I wish there was a middle ground, by which I could get it to not ask me for my password as often, but still not be running as root, as I know everyone says it's so dangerous!

gumby


I couldn't let this go without one last try to convince you of the danger in what you want to do. It's not just the possibility of allowing malware into your system with root privileges. That is a remote possibility. The most immediate danger is inadvertent damage caused by you accidentally hitting the wrong key while doing something and crashing the system because you were root,when the same keystroke as a regular user would result in no more than a backspace and retype. Please consider this before you decide on a course of action.

I will not say more about it but I couldn't rest well knowing I had told you how to run as root without one last try to dissuade you. Please read this thread http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.p ... &sk=t&sd=a for an intensive discussion of why it is dangerous to run as root.

Well, I set it so there's no delay with sudo forgetting your password, cause I feel unsecure then. If you are performing lots of root tasks, try sudo su root, and then do the mass amount functions. If it's for ease, that's silly. If you run as root I'll send you a friendly file Anyhow, bad idea, you're asking for it. (I mean a four character command could wipe your drive then).

From: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site ... ewsLang=en

Ninety two percent of survey respondents indicated that their Linux systems have never been infected with a virus, according to Evans Data's new Summer 2004 Linux Development Survey. Further, 78% of Linux developers say that their Linux systems have never been hacked and less than 7% were hacked three or more times. Of the 22% that have been hacked, 23% of the intrusions were by internal users with valid login ID's. The main ways that Linux machines can be compromised are: Inadequately configured security settings, vulnerability in internet service and Web server flaws.

Anyone even thinking of running X as root includes themselves in a very special group among the less than 7%... and it's not the kind of special you want to be. Even Chip from www.thewebsiteisdown.com with his the-password-is-just-the-letter "a" mentality is better off. The only place I can see this going is a compromised system shown to be running Linux Mint... and all because they're too lazy to type in a password once in a while... even if it is just the letter "a". Seriously, just go back to using Windows and save us all the trouble and the bad press.

Okay I get the reasoning behind the constant password bombing but at times it really is almost just as bad as the spam linux is so happy to block A reasonable idea to me would be maybe some kind of addon that you could click to insert your password or maybe a shortcut key ... Other than that I only switched to Linux 5 days ago am id have to say I feel more at home in Cinnamon then I have for years in Windows...

I'm new to Linux Mint. I nearly had a stroke going through the many Linux distributions, reading forums, watching videos, reading ratings, etc., until I finally said... 'the heck with it' and went for Mint. Then I had to do the whole thing over trying to decided between Mate and Cinnamon. I chose Mate. Ran it for a day, configured the heck out of it, but kept getting this niggling feeling, so I downloaded Cinnamon. After checking that out, I dropped Mate and went to Cinnamon. Now... for 2 days straight I've been adding things, deleting things, changing things, configuring things, etc. No offense, but I want to hang myself after typing my password no less than 375,864,987 times. At this point, I don't care who gets what off of my computer... lol.

Seriously though, I ended up here because of all of that. I can see where it can be a good thing, as stated. I'm hoping, once I get everything to where I want it to be, it will be less often I'll have to do it. Otherwise anyone is welcome to visit me in the nuthouse. I'll be the one in the straight jacket, rocking back and forth in my padded cell, drooling and mumbling something about Linux.