About the root user (or Super User)
You've probably been hearing about this "root" user or the "Super User". You're probably also wandering where the Administrator account is. That's what this part of the walkthrough is for.
Before we start, I'd like to offer one caveat: Be careful with the root account!!! I cannot stress this enough; the root account can do anything on your Linux installation, and with great power comes great responsibility -- if you click something the wrong way, you can crash your system!
The Administrative (root or Super User) Account
There exists an account in Linux called root, which is also referred to as the Super User because it can do anything on your Linux installation. This is the Administrative account. In Ark Linux, there are two ways to access this account.
Click the Kmenu and point to System. You will notice two options here related to the root user; if you're logged in to the default arklinux user, there is no need for a password, but be careful with them!:
- Command Line Interpreter - Super User Mode -- This allows you to run commands with Administrative (root or Super User) Privileges (see our Using a Konsole/Terminal section). Be careful here: If you type in the wrong directory or press enter too soon when typing a command, your whole system will come crashing down!
- File Manager - Super User Mode -- This runs Konqueror with Root privileges. Be careful: Click something wrong, and your system will crash.
Logging In As root
You can log in as root at any time considering you've set a password (see our Passwords and User Accounts section). This is not recommended for daily use!!! If someone hacks your computer while you're logged in as root, they can easily take total control of your system
