'root' but not quite

(Debian testing, 2.4.22)
I want to have a user who can do everything root can do (doesn't
matter whether this user is called 'root' or something else), *but*
one thing - namely, modify a crontab that says "disconnect from eth1
at n o'clock".

The idea is that, er... my mother should have a password to decide at
what time my connection to the Linux server should be shut down, and I
shouldn't be able to change that, *but* I should have every other
privilege on the machine.

I've looked at sudo but it doesn't quite seem to fulfill the purpose.

In the absence of other possibilities, I'd be happy with something
that *almost* disallows me to modify that crontab - i.e. makes it hard
enough for me to avoid doing it (for example, having to recompile the
kernel or to reboot to single-user classifies as "hard enough").

Even something that *very moderately* restricts my privileges on the
machine could be acceptable (random example: if I won't be able
anymore to create a directory directly under '/' without asking my
mother, it could be acceptable).

Thanks for reading this.

by LjL
ljlbox@tiscali.it

On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 05:52:29 -0700, Lorenzo J. Lucchini wrote:

> (Debian testing, 2.4.22)
> I want to have a user who can do everything root can do (doesn't
> matter whether this user is called 'root' or something else), *but*
> one thing - namely, modify a crontab that says "disconnect from eth1
> at n o'clock".
>
> The idea is that, er... my mother should have a password to decide at
> what time my connection to the Linux server should be shut down, and I
> shouldn't be able to change that, *but* I should have every other
> privilege on the machine.
>
> I've looked at sudo but it doesn't quite seem to fulfill the purpose.
>
> In the absence of other possibilities, I'd be happy with something
> that *almost* disallows me to modify that crontab - i.e. makes it hard
> enough for me to avoid doing it (for example, having to recompile the
> kernel or to reboot to single-user classifies as "hard enough").
>
> Even something that *very moderately* restricts my privileges on the
> machine could be acceptable (random example: if I won't be able
> anymore to create a directory directly under '/' without asking my
> mother, it could be acceptable).

Take a look at webmin. http://www.webmin.com

-DU-...etc...

On 2004-04-23, Lorenzo J. Lucchini <ljlbox@tiscalinet.it> wrote:

> (Debian testing, 2.4.22)
> I want to have a user who can do everything root can do (doesn't
> matter whether this user is called 'root' or something else), *but*
> one thing - namely, modify a crontab that says "disconnect from eth1
> at n o'clock".
>
> The idea is that, er... my mother should have a password to decide at
> what time my connection to the Linux server should be shut down, and I
> shouldn't be able to change that, *but* I should have every other
> privilege on the machine.


rotflmao! My sweet Jesus! I can't belive you would admit to your mother
owning your "server". What does it server, milk & cookies?

User: Mommy
Pass: go%to*bed!Now

Logging in...
Entering run level "Get-Yer-Arse-To-Bed-Now"

r00t (Junior) loggin out... :(


...and all these years I thought root was the super user, come to find out
it's Mommy :P



--
[jayjwa]:B628B51========================VxL@Atr2=
http://www.mingw.org/ | Windows-ness without the
http://www.winehq.org/ | Gates! No reboot needed!

jayjwa <jayjwa@nowhere.org> wrote in message news:<slrnc8oc9l.2lv.jayjwa@atr2.ath.cx>...
> On 2004-04-23, Lorenzo J. Lucchini <ljlbox@tiscalinet.it> wrote:
>
> > [handing some root privileges to mom]
>
> rotflmao! My sweet Jesus! I can't belive you would admit to your mother
> owning your "server". What does it server, milk & cookies?
>
> User: Mommy
> Pass: go%to*bed!Now
>
> Logging in...
> Entering run level "Get-Yer-Arse-To-Bed-Now"
>
> r00t (Junior) loggin out... :(
>
> ..and all these years I thought root was the super user, come to find out
> it's Mommy :P

Nahnahnah, I *decided* it ought to be so! It's a case of "root
voluntarily giving away privileges", which Linux unfortunately doesn't
seem to contemplate as a particularly primary need.
Seriously, I'm just trying to self-regulate a bit, since afer many
years I have come to the conclusion that staying connected 14 hours a
day is not healthy (hey it took time to reproduce the experiment some
thousand times to be sure it was reliable!).
You know - and more importantly Mommy knows - no matter how little
control I've got on the server, if I were motivated I could always
unplug the cable and... well, watch the light coming in and decode it
by hand, if nothing else :-)

by LjL
ljlbox@tiscali.it

>> The idea is that, er... my mother should have a password to decide at
>> what time my connection to the Linux server should be shut down, and I
>> shouldn't be able to change that, *but* I should have every other
>> privilege on the machine.

Funny post.

This won't teach you self-discipline though.

Michael

> >> The idea is that, er... my mother should have a password to decide at
> >> what time my connection to the Linux server should be shut down, and I
> >> shouldn't be able to change that, *but* I should have every other
> >> privilege on the machine.
>

I have a cheap ($30.00) router that has a web-based configuration
interface and is password protected. With it, you can set times that
each box attached to it can access the net. That should work for you,
No?