root methods?
 

I have newly purchased a 770, and want to become root.

From inspecting the wikis here and at maemo.org, I think there are at least three techniques:

1) What seems to be the "original" method which involves using the flasher.

2) A newer method (that OS2006 makes possible) that avoids using the flasher. Essentially, using ssh.

3) An even newer method (I think). It appears to be even easier. Use App Manager to install "becomeroot" (also at maemo.org).

The "catch" with #3 is that I don't know what it does. I think it probably uses the rootly power of the OS2006 app manager installer to do some "little fix", such as maybe just editing /etc/sudoers, or maybe fixing the absent setuid for "su" (or maybe something else).

I am reluctant to just blindly use it without knowing at least what it purports to do.

Might anyone comment on using "becomeroot" to gain root access? Is it safe? What does it do?

I'm new to the 770 and Linux, although have been using Solaris on Sun hardware for several years.

Thank you for any comments.

Regards,

DG

I employ both ssh ("dropbear") and "becomeroot" with satisfaction and no problems to date. "Becomeroot" enables me to log into my osso xterm root by simply entering "sudo su" at the "$" prompt. I use "dropbear" to access my 770 root via my PC terminal, and for that I've needed to set up a password. There's much good guidance in this forum and the various maemo sites to guide you in these matters. Good luck.

Thank you, ascherjim, for your reply.

Would you please tell me how you got and installed dropbear? I've tried to follow the links (starting from maemo.org) to the maemo package, but the komputika.net site seems to have disappeared.

Did you just use the generic debian package (if so, which version: stable, test, or unstable)? Or perhaps the Maemo package at komputika.net was still up when you did your install?

Thank you.

DG

I recall that I downloaded my dropbear from the following site:

http://matt.ucc.asn.au/dropbear/dropbear.html.

I expect you've already been there. I think I downloaded the .deb. Sorry I can't be more sure of just what I did. Good luck.

Thank you, Jim.


Unfortunately, that link leads to a dead end.

I am not aware of any location to download the Maemo package. It seems that only the generic Debian package is available.


Also, to avoid highjacking my own thread, I also solicit any further comments on what "becomeroot" actually does.

Thank you.


Regards,

DG

I used the becomeroot option and it was very easy. Once installed I enter and xterm window type sudo su and I have root access. (Whoami command confirms I have root access)

It took me a while to realise I had to use sudo su (and not sudo -su or sudo su-)

I used this method to gain root access before correctly installing Hamachi and it's additional requirement of tuncfg

Hope information is helpful to those that find the other methods daunting and confusing. ;)

I reccommend you use sudo su -
Otherwise you are not in root's environment. (that's a space and a dash after su)
verify with echo $PATH

So pleased to learn that it works well.

But... I'd sure like to know what it actually does.

Thank you.

Regards,

DG

Just use the flasher method and be done with it.
You'll know exactly what you did.

Thanks did not appreciate that as still quite new to Linux all round.

Sorry to be a pain, whilst learning a little all the time, so what difference does su - make when installing things that require root access?

Slightly worried that I can cause myself problems in the future if I do not understand the different uses for sudo su or sudo su -

Dgpretzel2: I am mystified when you say that the link http://matt.ucc.asn.au/dropbear/dropbear.html leads to a dead end. I just tried it and it worked fine for me. I downloaded the latest .deb version from it.

When I go to that site, I see a link to the Maemo version. I click on it, and find the link to be dead. Hence, my question about using the more generic Debian version.

Regards,

DG

dgpretzel: When I went to that site a second time today, I saw the same as before. In the upper right hand corner is a list of versions to be downloaded. The latest .deb version is (mistakenly?) identified as 0.48.1. As I said earlier today, I downloaded it and checked and it's the exact same version I downloaded and successfully installed on my Nokia several months ago (which was, and still is, labeled as 0.48.01). On the same page, farther down, is a list of distributions, in which Maemo -- Nokia 770 is listed. If you click on that and follow a circuitous route of certificate waivers, you get once again to the .deb 0.48.1 or .01) as listed at the top of the page. This has worked for me. Again, good luck.

I will try again tonight, when I get home from work. (The State of Alaska, in its infinite wisdom, blocks http://matt.ucc.asn.au/dropbear/dropbear.html (and many others, too).

However, for the last couple days, I only got 404 (not found) errors when I tried to click on the komputika.net/maemo link that the matt.ucc.asn.au page contains.

OK, I just tried the komputika.net site again (State of Alaska does not block that site), and now it's back. And the maemo directory is also back. It definitely was not there every time I checked yesterday and over the weekend.

I see what you mean, now, about being the same as the Deb package.

I will try it at home tonight.

Thank you for your persistence.

The site must come and go unpredictably.

Regards,

DG


P.S. Since others have been pleased with "becomeroot", I will try it, too. Maybe I can determine what it did by making some before and after observations.

Installing becomeroot backs up the /etc/sudoers file then runs this script:
that's all.

Un-installing it restores the backup file.

Thank you, all.



I finally decided, once I had ssh access from a desktop machine, that just manually editing the /etc/sudoers file was the way to go, so that's what I did.


I finally figured out that it was very likely that that was all "becomeroot" did. Thank you for confirming, BanditRider.

This little machine is so great.

Thank you all, again, for your generous assistance.

DG