[TriLUG] to delete root, or not too?

[Phillip Rhodes]

I'm not an expert on this subject, but here's my vague understanding:

> 1) how do i delete root? can i do it threw the normal way you delete 
> any user account?
>
Don't know, I've never tried to do that.

> 2) was told if i cant delete it, to find a way to lock it down and 
> disable it... so, what all would i need to lock down? and dont i need 
> some of the functionality of root for certin operations to be completed?
>
You can disable interactive logins for sure.  I forget exactly how you 
do it, but a google search should turn that up pretty quick.  You can 
use sudo for executing commands
that need root privileges. Or use another user that is either in the 
root group, or has it's uid set to 0. 

> 3) if its posible, for some reason, this doesnt seem like the smartest 
> of idea's, and i need to prove to my ta(teachers assistant) why we 
> should not delete root.
It's a little esoteric, but more than one user can have uid 0, which is 
usually what things are looking at something "has to be root."  So in a 
certain sense, if you have
another user defined that way, the actual username 'root' isn't terribly 
important.


TTYL,

Phil