Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Michael Robertson Says Root is Safe

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the he-calls dept.

Kez writes "HEXUS.net caught up with Michael Robertson, CEO of Linspire, at the UK launch of Linspire 5. Their interview with Mr. Robertson covers everything from hardware support to software patents, but a comment from Mr. Robertson on using root is perhaps the most interesting: "I defy anybody to tell me why is it more secure to not run as root. Nobody really has a good answer. They say 'oh, yeah, it is!', but it really isn't." I would imagine a few Slashdotters would dispute that."

1 of 1,174 comments (clear)

  1. Where's my cluestick? by dheltzel · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    Somebody hand me a cluestick, because that guy really needs a whack with it.

    Seriously, how can the CEO of a Linux-oriented company say something like this. He's either:
    a) managed to avoid listening to his engineers,
    b) got them cowed into telling him only what he wants to hear, or
    c) he's found the most clueless engineers on the planet to work for him (did he hire people from Microsoft, or what?).

    I think he's hearing rumors that people are criticizing Linspire for running as root and they are thinking about changing that, but honestly can't figure out why it's better to not run as root. He wants a list of reasons for the marketing of their new "secure" version of Linspire.

    Well, I for one am not helping with this, he can do his own homework, I'm not letting him copy mine.