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I am the only person who uses my PC. Is there a way to disable the need to enter my password whenever I add a program, change settings, or sneeze? (my attempt at humour...sorry)

I understand laptop users on the go need it a lot more, but to a person like me, it's more of a pain. Plus 20.04 won't let me use my 4 digit pin.

I'd be happy hearing that plans for future releases might make it a built in option, rather than tweaking and possibly hurting something.

Thanks.

Abhay Patil
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dwd2000
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  • I have some computers that I'm not worried about, as I'm the only user. I disable the password requirement for 'sudo' in the terminal - because my workflow means I do quite a bit in the terminal. If you're mostly a GUI person, this won't benefit you much. I can tell you how to do that, if you want? – KGIII Jul 18 '20 at 21:13
  • System security is not something that the Ubuntu developers are much interesting in watering down. It's one of the big reasons so many folks choose Ubuntu in the first place. – user535733 Jul 18 '20 at 21:28
  • @ KGIII - Thanks, but no thanks for your offer, but yes, I'm a GUI guy. I'm also a (hopefully) former Microsoft Windows user. – dwd2000 Jul 18 '20 at 21:35
  • @ user535733 - I understand 100%, and I agree with those of you who appreciate the tight security. I just wish there was a choice for those who feel they don't need it. That's all. – dwd2000 Jul 18 '20 at 21:40
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    Could change password to a simple weak one like cont2, if present password is a good one. One of the reasons for having a password is to make you think before installing something or run a command you really should not. – crip659 Jul 18 '20 at 21:48
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    https://askubuntu.com/questions/281074/can-i-set-my-user-account-to-have-no-password – Rinzwind Jul 18 '20 at 22:25
  • Not sure if this one still works. – mikewhatever Jul 18 '20 at 22:43

1 Answers1

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Even when you are the only person with access to that computer you should not disable this mechanism.

The main goal of asking for a password for "system" tasks (as crip659 stated in a comment) is to protect you from yourself by giving you a short moment to contemplate if you really want to do whatever is at hand.

  • imagine some malicious link on a website
  • a malicious macro in an office document
  • a misplaced click on delete for some important system folder (like /etc)
guntbert
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    ehm sorry this is not an answer to the question :P and https://askubuntu.com/questions/281074/can-i-set-my-user-account-to-have-no-password is already available – Rinzwind Jul 18 '20 at 22:25
  • @ Rinzwind - I've already read that post before asking the question. It was the type of tweaking I was hoping to stay away from, plus it was for older versions of Ubuntu. Thanks though. – dwd2000 Jul 18 '20 at 22:38
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    @ guntbert - No offence intended, but to me, slowing down to enter a password will very rarely prevent me from installing something. I do try to do my research before considering installing anything, then ask myself if I really want/need it. Most of the programs I install here are Ubuntu equivalents to Windows programs I've used for years anyways. Thanks for your concerns though. – dwd2000 Jul 18 '20 at 22:51
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    @ crip659 - I originally tried using a 4 digit pin that I use for my laptop, tablet, and cell, but Ubuntu wants something more difficult. Thanks. – dwd2000 Jul 18 '20 at 22:53
  • @ mikewhatever - Thanks, but that's the type of tweaking I'd like to stay away from. – dwd2000 Jul 18 '20 at 23:00
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    -1 Instead of giving a solution, you give an explanation as to shy he shouldn't do it. You shouldn't have bothered answering. – Melab Jul 22 '21 at 00:04
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    Thanks for not answering the question. Will downvote as soon as I have enough reputation. – user3700562 Oct 17 '21 at 11:21