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Legacy Forums => Experienced User Forum => Topic started by: Mattias Hult on February 20, 2002, 11:35:01 PM

Title: root doesn't work over telnet!
Post by: Mattias Hult on February 20, 2002, 11:35:01 PM

I'm a long time SME (and e-smith) user who just ran into a strange problem: I can't telnet in as root! This happened after I performed a fresh installation on a new disk. Telnet as admin works fine. So does root at the local console. Any ideas, anyone?

Title: Re: root doesn't work over telnet!
Post by: Bobby on February 20, 2002, 11:41:33 PM

I believe root access is disabled via telnet as a security precaution.

Use SSH and you will be in easily, and more securely.

/B

Title: Re: root doesn't work over telnet!
Post by: Mattias Hult on February 21, 2002, 12:11:20 AM

Thanks! Now I'm using ssh, and it works fine. I wonder, though, why telnet root access was enabled on my old installation (4.0 -> ... -> 5.1.2)?

Title: Re: root doesn't work over telnet!
Post by: Charlie Brady on February 21, 2002, 12:45:17 AM

Mattias Hult wrote:

> I'm a long time SME (and e-smith) user who just ran into a
> strange problem: I can't telnet in as root!

Exactly as intended:

http://www.e-smith.org/docs/manual/5.1/userguidesme.html#telnet

regards

Charlie

Title: Re: root doesn't work over telnet!
Post by: matrix on February 22, 2002, 06:15:35 AM

you should never ssh or telnet as root period, if you want to run root commands do so w/ sudo or su to root

Title: Re: root doesn't work over telnet!
Post by: evilghost on March 15, 2002, 05:58:16 PM

That isn't an entirely true statement.  The purpose in not using telnet as root is because Telnet is an unsecured plain-text connection.  Someone with very little effort could easily sniff out the root user and password.  SSH uses an encrypted connection, therefore, there is no danger in using root.  It is just as easy to sniff the initial login as it is to sniff the "su root" and password if typed from the console in a telnet connection.  The moral of the story is to not use telnet unless you are in a trusted environment and SSH is not an option, other than that, always use SSH.