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Hello,
I have posted earlier as I’m using Linux lite 3.4 on older computers that I place with South Africa high school youth for study. I’m now in SA and placing two today with youth and my question is:
1) Is there an advantage to having them use their computers via a second user whereby they DO NOT have admin access? I had heard that on windows computers it was best not to use the computers on a daily basis as “admin” which I believe is something to do with security as well as preventing downloading...
2) IF I change the second user to having admin permission or providing them with the admin password when required for things - is this any different or safer than simply having them use the computer via admin user.
Hope these questions make sense!
Regards,
Janet
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When you installed and created a user, that user was not an "admin" by default. The user still has to provide a password for installing programs and administrating the system. If you create a new user account it will be the same way as the user you initially created during the install. How you can do it is to make a default user with a very strong password then create new users that do not have the same passwords and do not give the new users administration rights. There is also another way if your really want security. Create a strong username and password then use a guest session for all other users. There are a lot of drawbacks to this way though.
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I guess it depends on what you are teaching. If you are teaching Linux skills it would be best to have users with sudo access. If you are just teaching basic computer skills, or using the computers for standard academics such as the three "Rs" it wouldn't matter though you would have to keep up with the updating process personally on each platform. Structure the environment to be convenient for you because you obviously have limited resources. A thin client environment would of course be ideal for the classroom but you appear not to have resources for that. I would suggest incorporating a few basic Linux skills into any course that uses Linux computers to allow users to properly maintain their systems themselves.
TC
All opinions expressed and all advice given by Trinidad Cruz on this forum are his responsibility alone and do not necessarily reflect the views or methods of the developers of Linux Lite. He is a citizen of the United States where it is acceptable to occasionally be uninformed and inept as long as you pay your taxes.
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Thanks for both replies above. Essentially I’ve done what Supergamer discussed - the initial user I set up when I put LL 3.4 on the computers I’ve called Admin and given it a different pw than the “student” user whom I have not given sudo permission.
Trinidad’s comments are well taken and since I’m simply providing computers for academic study (my day job is as a veterinarian, however now that I’m retired I provide academic help to HS students) and while I’ve learned a lot about computers and OS’s I want to keep it simple and avoid software issues that might be created giving sudo permission! ;D
Thanks again,
Janet
