Half^A^Biscuit wrote:
by default.. linux (last version i was with was 5.1 before moving to BSD) and FreeBSD will not allow you to login via telnet

this is for security reasons, ie. it makes it easier to spot intruders playing mr admin

therefore you need to su (basically asume that login in newbie terms)

this means that by having to su to root, it makes it harder for lamers to break into you machines.
There's actually an entry in most sshd_config files that reads:
PermitRootLogin {yes|no}
The default on RH7.1 was yes.

I generally only keep /dev/tty1 in /etc/securtty, that way even if there's a misconfigured SSHD or something, you can only log in if you're sitting in front of my PC.

psi0nic wrote:
That is 100% correct. It means `Substitute User' and not `Super User'. With su you can become any user in the /etc/passwd file, giving just su with no username defualts to a root level priviledge of su. I am no sure when people started calling su `Super User', it is appropriate for the access granted by the command in my opinion even though it is not exactly correct.
Also note that when you ARE root, and you use su to another username, you aren't prompted for a password.