[HOWTO] - Enable Root Login to Mac OSX

[bossa nova]

Originally posted by houchin

You do not want to enable the root password, because thsi will prevent a lot of security problems which rely on someone logging on as root (like through sendmail)

I think i may have enabled it. Is there a way I can check? If I have enalbed it, How can I disable root so that i can just temporily use the sudo command instead?
Thanks!

[nkuvu]

An easy way to check if root login is enabled. From the Terminal, type login. Enter root and the root password. If you get in, it's enabled.

Alternatively, use these slightly modified instructions:

simX said:
1. Open the NetInfo Manager application in the /Applications/Utilities folder.

2. Go to the Domain menu, then drag down to the Security submenu, and choose "Authenticate...". Put in an administrator login and password and press return or the "OK" button.

3. Go again to the Domain menu, again to the Security submenu, and then drag down to the "Disable Root User..." menu item.

At least, that's what my memory is telling me....

I guess I should stop giving advice when I'm not on a Mac to verify the steps. Unless, of course, it's right. Then it's "Of course! I knew it all along!"

[bossa nova]

I think that's got it. I tried to "login" to root and got the message "root login refused on this terminal." So I suppose I can assume root access is not enable.

[nkuvu]

To be sure, check the Netinfo Manager. Do the authentication bit, as described above, then see if you have "Enable Root User" available. The menu item changes (IIRC, of course) when root login is enabled.

[bossa nova]

Yes I did and "enable root user" was in the menu. And to safe I am not gonna enable that puppy! I can use 'sudo' for the rare occassions that I need super user access.

[XnetZero]

As many others have pointed out there is no need to enable the root user. Just another security risk...

FYI--

There's a great utility that will tell you how to use the many different commands found in /bin, /sbin et all... It's called man. To use it type

man command_you_want_to_learn_about

and example would look like this:

man ls

You can even man man. In the cases no man file exists try this at the command line:

command_you_want_to_learn_about --help

Any how... enabling root is unecessary...

[apaquette]

Every body are taking about how to enable root. Maybe I miss that info but how can we disable root user by the terminal? I know the way to do it by netinfo.

How can we login in root user with aqua without enabling root?

[efoivx]

Simple - Short answer

Open Terminal type the following.

sudo passwd root

it will first ask for your password to authenticate you are an admin
then it will ask for a password for root and then ask to verify the password you just entered.

The password is blind so you won't see it yped on the CLI

That being said... there is NO reason to need to enable root. ANything you might need to do as root can be done by using sudo before the command you are trying to use.

Cheers