Linux sudo what is

Even more similar is the run as command in Windows; like in Linux, the run as command works from the command line to launch a file with credentials from a certain user, often an admin. If you're not sure if you're using sudo or su, look at the trailing character on the command line.

If it's a pound sign , you're logged in as root. When you put sudo in front of any command in terminal, that command runs with elevated privileges, which is why it's the solution to privilege-related errors. Sudo operates on a per-command basis. Features include the ability to restrict the commands a user can run on a per-host basis, copious logging of each command to provide a clear audit trail of who did what, a configurable timeout of the sudo command, and the ability to use the same configuration file on many different machines.

A standard user without administrative privileges might enter a command in Linux to install a piece of software:. The command returns an error because a person without administrative privileges isn't allowed to install software. However, the sudo command comes to the rescue. Instead, the correct command for this user is:. This time the software installs.

Actively scan device characteristics for identification. This could provide too much power for inexperienced users, who could unintentionally damage the system. Additionally, each time a user should no longer use the root account for example, an employee leaves , the system administrator will have to change the root password.

This is document amyi in the Knowledge Base. Last modified on Skip to: content search login. Knowledge Base Toggle local menu Menus About the team. Knowledge Base Search. Log in. Options Help Chat with a consultant. You should see an error message. You do not have the necessary permissions to run the command. Type your password when prompted. The system executes the command and updates the repositories.

This command switches your command prompt to the BASH shell as a root user:. The hostname value will be the network name of this system.

The username will be the current logged-in username. The Linux command line keeps a record of previously executed commands. These records can be accessed by pressing the up arrow. To repeat the last command with elevated privileges, use:. This example repeats the 6th entry in history with the sudo command.

Adding a string of text to a file is often used to add the name of a software repository to the sources file, without opening the file for editing. Use the following syntax with echo, sudo and tee command :. You should now understand the sudo command, and how to use it. Whenever a user tries to install, remove or change any piece of software, he has to have the root privileges to perform such tasks.

The sudo command is used to give such permissions to any particular command that a user wants to execute once the user enters a user password to give system based permissions. The user will be prompted for the password of the user to which he or she is switching.

Here is an example:. The per can also use it to switch to the root account. If you use a traditional Linux setup, you are familiar with using the su command to gain root privileges. You can use it to log in as the root. If you are using a type that relies on su and allows root user login, log in as your standard user and su to the root user.

In fact, using Ubuntu, the root user account is disabled, thank goodness. You also cannot use su to become the root user. You can only issue commands using sudo to gain administrative privileges. I caution you to ensure this is appropriate for your security needs before providing a user the power of sudo.

Using the basic form of sudo is pretty simple. Consider that you have to run the dpkg to install new software on your computer. If, as a standard user, you just issue the command dpkg -i software. This is because standard users, by default, cannot install applications on a Linux machine.

To install an application on a Linux machine, you must have super user privileges. So, to successfully run the installation, you would instead issue the command sudo dpkg -i software. In environments where security is a substantial concern, I recommend that you limit access to the root user account and password. Sudo will allow your system administrators to grant certain users or groups of users the ability to run commands as root.

Make sure that you configure your sudo security policy to log activity. Within the sudoers file, configure your groups of users and sets of commands to simplify, and audit server administration with sudo commands.