Re: Best explanation why NOT to run as administrator/root

[John Posada <jposada99 -at- gmail -dot- com>]

Kevin...the mistake you made was passing on a credential that was given TO
YOU. Unless you ARE the admin, you really had no authority to do so. If the
other writer needed it, he should have been given it by the authorized
party like you were.
On Apr 30, 2013 12:18 PM, "McLauchlan, Kevin" <
Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> wrote:

> All,
>
> Who can recommend the best and most persuasively presented summary of why
> one should NOT log in as Administrator (or root) for every-day, ongoing
> computer use?  To me, it's been a given for as long as I've been using
> networked computers. To my cow-orker, apparently not-so-much.
>
> We were given a VM in which to run our apps (like Flare, GIMP, Visio,
> various other tools, etc.).
> The server owner installed Windows Server 2008 SP2, and handed me the
> location and the Administrator password.
> I created a regular user account for myself, and one for the other local
> techwriter in our office.
> I started using my user account.
> I gave the other guy his credentials AND the Administrator PW, since we
> are each other's backup, and I expected some sense from him.
>
> He soon began logging in as Administrator, as a matter of course.
> I said "stop that".
> He said "Why? I know better than to break things, and besides, I had a
> problem with my username account."
> I responded that if he had Administrator access, and still couldn't sort
> out his own user account, that, in itself, was an indication that he was
> not as knowledgeable as he imagined, and he should stop using
> "Administrator" as his daily workspace.
>
> Even if he isn't deliberately tap-dancing on the Registry, or otherwise
> taking an axe to the system security, he's running Flare and other apps
> that could possibly include malware/spyware in some future update (if they
> haven't already).  Part of our normal verification of webhelp that we
> produce is to run several browsers against it. I see that as another
> security hole, when run as Administrator.   Mr. Co-techwriter is
> unconcerned and oblivious.
> Factoids from me, like "40 percent of infected PCs were running up-to-date
> Anti-virus/anti-malware" carry no weight, possibly because it's me saying
> it....   hmm.... I know we're together 8 hours a day for a few years now,
> but I'm pretty sure that still doesn't make him my wife.... but I digress...
>
> I'm resisting the temptation to "out" him, and instead am thinking of
> logging in as Administrator myself, changing the password, and then sharing
> that only with our manager.
> This could cause some bad blood, so if there's a good "here, read this;
> I'm not making this up" site or page or blog that might be persuasive to an
> otherwise reasonably sane person... I'd rather try that first.
>
> My Googling has returned a lot of piecemeal stuff and a LOT about Ubuntu
> and sudo vs root, which would not help the cause.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> The information contained in this electronic mail transmission
> may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected
> from disclosure. If you have received this communication in
> error, please notify us immediately by replying to this
> message and deleting it from your computer without copying
> or disclosing it.
>
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> From our sponsor Doc-to-Help: Want to see a Doc-To-Help web-based Help
> sample with DISQUS for user commenting?
>
> Learn more: http://bit.ly/13xpg5n
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as jposada99 -at- gmail -dot- com -dot- 
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
> http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online
> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>From our sponsor Doc-to-Help: Want to see a Doc-To-Help web-based Help sample with DISQUS for user commenting?

Learn more: http://bit.ly/13xpg5n

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com


Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and info.

Looking for articles on Technical Communications?  Head over to our online magazine at http://techwhirl.com

Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions?  Search our public email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives