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General discussion

Should I use the initial user for everyday use in Ubuntu?

by SpringfieldGuy Aug 2, 2008 12:27PM PDT

When I first installed Ubuntu, it asks to create an initial user. this user has admin privileges. Since Ubuntu doesn't actually use root and gives the admin priviliges to the initial user, should I use this initial user?

In Ubuntu, you use sudo for anything requiring privileges correct? Should I create another account for everyday use that has no admin privileges instead? I kinda new to Ubuntu. Also, please correct me if any of this is wrong.

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2 Posts

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Isn't possible on Linux.

by white-bread Aug 2, 2008 12:36PM PDT

Only the BSD distributions allow you to create a user that has no access to root.
You can always remove/ disable sudo and make everything a prompt for a login when using root.

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Sorry for late reply

by 3rdalbum Aug 20, 2008 11:18PM PDT

Sorry for the late reply.

As you might have discovered by now, the first user account created by Ubuntu does not actually have administrator privileges. You have the ability to elevate to root by using "sudo" or "gksudo" and typing your password, but the elevation actually doesn't use your account - it uses Root's account.

So it's perfectly safe to use that first account that you create with Ubuntu, because it is not an actual administrator account.

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