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Websites tell me to use sudo when I have no password, usually tell me one of two things.

  1. It is bad security
  2. Or use 'sudo visudo' and the %admin ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL line

I would like to not have a password on anything despite the security risks.

Going with option 2, I'm trying to avoid getting prompted to enter a password at all on my account.

So the problem with option 2, is that sudo is still prompting for a password that does not exist. So I can not use sudo visudo in order to remove the need to enter a password for sudo, because it prompts for a password.

Mateo
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frumbert
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    Welcome to AskUbuntu. We'd love to help if you separate the rant and the question and retain the question here. Thanks. – Mahesh Oct 21 '12 at 09:08
  • I did add it as answer, but would also like to add that this question may be considered a duplicate of http://askubuntu.com/questions/44418/how-to-enable-root-login – James Oct 21 '12 at 14:08
  • That I agree on, of course. – user98085 Oct 21 '12 at 14:16
  • Also a possible duplicate of http://askubuntu.com/questions/39281/how-to-run-an-application-using-sudo-without-a-password – James Oct 21 '12 at 14:18
  • fine, i'll find another forum where people answer questions, and don't censor others right to freely express an OPINION; which is "security is an OPTION, not a REQUIREMENT, so stop FORCING it on me." – frumbert Oct 21 '12 at 21:50
  • @frumbert No one is forcing it upon you. We're just trying to point out how dangerous it can be to not have a sudo password or to run as root/superuser. The choice is still yours, but at least it's now an informed choice. – James Oct 22 '12 at 22:47
  • and the original bug is still there, that you can't sudo something with a blank password. – frumbert Oct 22 '12 at 23:44
  • @frumbert This is not a bug, it's a feature! Otherwise Linux security would have degraded long ago. –  Mar 27 '16 at 06:16
  • There must be a sudo password. It's the one for your account. –  Mar 27 '16 at 06:17

1 Answers1

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Warning: Running as root is a bad idea - You never need to do it. If you do you can very easily and irreparably destroy your system and your data.

If after that warning you still want to do it, then go to http://www.liberiangeek.net/2012/05/login-as-root-in-ubuntu-12-04-precise-pangolin/ and follow the directions to enable super user account. Be forewarned that this is extremely dangerous. It can lead to undesired results happening to your computer with the slightest mistake. It also opens your computer up to many vulnerabilities. Having to sudo to do Super User/Root task is a security and safety feature. Doing otherwise is not recommended. Again, you have been warned.

Community
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James
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    I second that. Having to enter your password, which is however slightly different on all systems prevents you from inadverently issuing a command on the wrong system! – Floyd Oct 21 '12 at 14:14
  • not knowing the commands is also a great way not to enter them too. – frumbert Oct 21 '12 at 21:51
  • @frumbert You don't have to not know the commands. You can have a program crash (or that has bugs) and corrupt the whole system because you are running as root. Also, one of the reasons why virus are virtually non-existant on linux is because of not running as root unless you specifically intend to by using sudo. – James Oct 21 '12 at 23:32