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  • From: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • To: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [BL] unpriviledged users under BL3
  • Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:53:48 -0500 (CDT)

Here's an odd problem I've run into when adding an unpriviledged user to BL3 (after having added the passwd.tgz package intended to allow this). Perhaps this will shed light on the whole range of problems encountered when trying to run BL3 with non-root users.

When I first added my unpriviledged user, and before rebotting the computer, I could su to my user all I wanted in an rxvt terminal. It worked without a hitch every time I tried it. Didn't even need to enter a password for the user. Now that I've rebooted, however, I can't su to my user in an rxvt termianl. For one thing when I try, it now asks for a password. When I enter the password I get an error message: "cannot set groups: operation not permitted." At a certain point I think I also saw an error message about pty (Sindi has mentioned previously a need to change permissions on pty's in order that an unpriviledged user can operate the system).

So, why does this happen? "cannot set groups" probably stems from the absence of chgrp in busybox. Is chgrp available as a separate binary in Slack4? If it were, would adding it resolve the problem? Would permissions on pty's still ned to be changed? Why does it only happen after rebooting the system (after the unpriviledged user has been added)?

Things are beginning to look a bit less hopeful with respect to putting BL3 on my laptop. According to what we've discussed on this list and what I've heard in other places, one should avoid running as root while on the WAN. I definitely need to be on the internet with this machine, and that with some frequency. If there's not some reasonable way to allow an unpriviledged user to go online under BL3, I might need to look for a different Linux for this laptop.

Thanks,
James




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