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No one uses my computer except me and no one accesses Kubuntu in VirtualBox except me. In XP if I need to edit a file I open it with a text editor, edit it, save it and then close the editor. How do I configure Kubuntu to automatically boot using the root user?

  • I'm not interested in Linux as a hobby, I'm interested in Linux for production. Therefore I'm not interested in the philosophy of excessive and overwhelmingly redundant security.

  • Please keep in mind that I'm modestly capable with the console (su/sudo/etc) though have no desire to type fifty lines to do simple copy/paste or text file editing tasks that can be done in seconds via the GUI.

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8  
Your usage of "production" sounds a lot like what the rest of the world would call "development". The production box is the one that has all the security locked down tight and the optimizations turned on etc etc. The development box is the one that you configure to make your workflow more convenient. Whatever the case, logging in as root is a very bad idea, and running X as root sounds even worse. – jw013 Jun 27 '12 at 20:18
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The reason XP is a massive haven for viruses and malware is precisely because everyone has admin privileges by default. Espousing it as good demonstrates a misunderstanding of why it's good. – EightBitTony Jun 27 '12 at 20:21
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Can we avoid the answers about "this is a bad idea", please? If the answer doesn't actually explain how to do this (while optionally accosting the OP for wanting to), it's not an answer – Michael Mrozek♦ Jun 27 '12 at 20:25
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This is a bad idea. [This is a comment, not an answer.] – Gilles Jun 27 '12 at 23:36
@John: please stick with your question in the text of your question. Meta-information like the fact that you are aware of how voting and accepting answers works is irrelevant. If you want to highlight that, do so in a comment, but even that is unnecessary noise. – Mat Jun 28 '12 at 6:40

2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

I'm using Debian but it should be similar. You should have a file called kdmrc. In Debian, this file resides in /etc/kde4/kdm. Look for a 'AllowRootLogin=false' entry. Change it to 'AllowRootLogin=true'. Then add or change the following entry:

AutoLoginEnable=true
AutoLoginUser=root
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Modifying kdmrc may or may not survive updates performed via updating packages. So those changes may not be lasting, but might be. Not a bad idea. Though I still think logging in as root is a bad idea, but I'm sure the asker has heard that a bunch of times now. – killermist Jun 28 '12 at 0:55
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/etc/kde4/kdm/kdmrc is declared as a config file in the kdm package. If you change it and then upgrade, you'll be asked whether to keep your file, or upgrade to the new version (or diff the two, et cetera). It's safe to edit config files on Debian (and friends). It'd be hard to use the OS if there wasn't a mechanism like this! – Alexios Jun 28 '12 at 19:11
up vote 7 down vote

You don't 'boot' Linux as a specific user. You just log in, as a specific user. Your Kubuntu is probably just logging you in as the default user you created. You need to disable autologin.

You want System Settings, Advanced, Login Manager. Under 'Convenience' turn off all the auto-login options.

Next time you log out and in to KDE, just log in as root.

You will need to make sure root has a working password, so if you've never set it,

sudo passwd root

from the command line.

However, you're seriously misguided if you believe logging in as root will make you more productive or move the machine closer to a 'productive' state.

You could leave the auto-login stuff enabled, and configure it to login as root (same panel as above, untested), but I strongly recommend you don't do that.

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