Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!think!barmar From: barmar@think.COM (Barry Margolin) Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Subject: Re: Workstations: good reasons for owner root access Message-ID: <25952@think.UUCP> Date: 17 Aug 88 16:23:53 GMT References: <8338@smoke.ARPA> <2757@bgsuvax.UUCP> <183@ndc.UUCP> Sender: usenet@think.UUCP Reply-To: barmar@kulla.think.com.UUCP (Barry Margolin) Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge, MA Lines: 20 In article <183@ndc.UUCP> sgf@ndc.UUCP (Fishman) writes: >I work on a diskless microVAX 2000, so I don't do my own system >administration, but I occasionally _must_ have su privledge (sp?). >That happens when my system must be rebooted, so I have to do a >shutdown. Why not just make shutdown setuid root, and executable only by a group of which you are the sole member? These are the kinds of tools someone was referring to when he said that in a well-designed system you should rarely need to use "su". "su" should only be for unusual circumstances. Users shutting down their workstations is not unusual, so there should be a standard tool for it. Barry Margolin Thinking Machines Corp. barmar@think.com {uunet,harvard}!think!barmar