There are two general ways to run applications graphically as root (or, more generally, as another user). Programs like gksu, gksudo, and kdesudo are graphical frontends for sudo. In contrast, pkexec is a graphical frontend for PolicyKit.
When…
How can I set the Software Center to allow non-root users to install stuff from the Ubuntu repos without having to type in their password?
I'm fully aware of the security implications, and I am willing to take the risk. Fedora 12 shipped with…
For years, I've had the following in my sudoers file:
scott ALL=NOPASSWD: ALL
For those who don't know, this prevents sudo and friends (gksudo, etc.) from asking for a password. However, over the years, more and more stuff that once used sudo has…
Following the instruction here I get:
pkexec visudo
==== AUTHENTICATING FOR org.freedesktop.policykit.exec ===
Authentication is needed to run `/usr/sbin/visudo' as the super user
Authenticating as: Thomas,,, (tuc) Password: …
Since the last update of Ubuntu 14.04, when I press the sleep button in my laptop, a pop-up window appears with "Authentication is required for suspending the system".
Password is not requested when closing the lid. However, this doesn't work when…
Ever since I upgraded to 14.10 I get a strange behavior on my desktop. I get popups claiming "Authentication is required to change your own user data" and a prompt for my password. It happens at random times, though it seems to get triggered by my…
On a traditional Unix system, non-root users cannot do this. What is it that gives users this ability in modern desktop environments and how would I go about disabling this on a per-user or per-group basis?
I've seen a great method to prevent…
How can I set the permissions for users to make changes to the network connections and state? For instance, how can I allow/disallow users to connect to new wireless networks? How can I allow/disallow users to turn off networking?
I'm trying to write a new .rules file for PolicyKit. My test attempt (in the directory /etc/polkit-1/rules.d/) looks like this:
polkit.addRule(function(action, subject) {
polkit.spawn(["rm","/home/gabriel/test"]);
if (action.id ==…
I'd like to know how I can disable the authentication prompts when opening apps such as Synaptic, mounting disks and so.
I got my user as passwordless set in sudoers, but seems the change to systemd changed something and now I keep getting prompted.…
Re-enabling hibernation by adding a rule to policy kit added the option to hibernate to the desktop session as expected, but not for the login screen.
How can I enable hibernation right from the login screen on 14.04?
I'd like Software Center, Update Manager and some other system management applications to work without asking for password (like sudo does if configured with NOPASSWD) but only asking for a confirmation instead, or even without any confirmation. At…
I'm trying to install fingerprint-gui on my Lenovo Ideapad 520 having Ubuntu 20.04 on which fingerprint isn't working for now.
I tried going directly to Settings → Users → Automatic login and enabled the fingerprint login, but the error is:
Could…
Whenever I'm installing new software or making changes to the system, Linux asks for the root password.
What is the name of this security concept and where can I research more information about it?
