KDE Desktop Configuartion Messed up for root

Beginner

Friday, June 1st 2007, 1:42pm

Hello World !

I'm having this problem on my openSuSE 10.2 system with KDE Desktop.

I had to perform a system restore via "cp -a" from a backup disk.
All seemed to work fine, except for my KDE Desktop.
Ever since its messed up for user "root" (and only for him) in two ways.

A) When I go to "Configure Desktop->Screen Savers" I get a blank list (all empty!)
Yet since I had "random" enabled for the screen saver, upon time out or locking user session, I still get a screen saver to kick in.
I just can't select a specific one or change any of its settings.

B) No matter what I tried in the "Menu Editor" I can not delete certain sub-folders, see others that are listed in the Menu Editor but refuse to show up in the Menu itself and the overall layout of the Menu in the Menu Editor and the actual Menu on screen just doesn't match 100%.
And when I try to delete certain menu-subfolders, I save my changes, close the Menu Editor and open it up again.... and that old Sub-Menu is there again.
But this only happens with some, not with other items/sub-menues.

And for the life of me, I just I can't figure out the method/pattern behind it.

I already tried re-installing the KDE packages and deleting "./kde".
No difference. I also copied the whole "/root" dir from a working SuSE install.
No difference.

But I have none of these problems with another user I created from scratch.

Any help is appreciated with this one!

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Rinse

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Posts: 797

2

Friday, June 1st 2007, 11:36pm

why are you using kde as root user?

Help mee om KDE 3.5.5 in het Nederlands te vertalen

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bones

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3

Monday, June 4th 2007, 8:17am

...

This post has been edited 1 times, last edit by "bones" (Jun 4th 2007, 8:18am)

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bones

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4

Monday, June 4th 2007, 8:17am

Quoted

Originally posted by Rinse
why are you using kde as root user?

People who don't have anything helpful to say, probably shouldn't be saying anything at all :-(

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Rinse

Professional

Posts: 797

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Monday, June 4th 2007, 1:28pm

well, using kde as root is not a good idea, so i think it is a legitimate question.
by running kde as root you are creating a security hazard for yourself and others.

Help mee om KDE 3.5.5 in het Nederlands te vertalen

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bones

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Tuesday, June 5th 2007, 9:27am

Quoted

Originally posted by Rinse
well, using kde as root is not a good idea, so i think it is a legitimate question.
by running kde as root you are creating a security hazard for yourself and others.

And yet again he managed to use up bandwith with comments that are as unhelpful as they are unrelated to the issue at hand and illogical.
Me >creating a security risk for others< by working as "root" on my very own machine?
If you feel threatened already by this factoid, then may I suggest you call 911?!
Or even better, get of your meds man.

Since neither you nor anyone else in here seems to spend the least bit of brain power on the actual issue at hand, the messed up KDE menu structure, I did some research of my own and what I found was TRULY SHOCKING!

Ever since KDE 3.2 the menu structure is an abysmal chaos of dir structures, XML formats, *.directory and *.menu files and all that dispersed over countless locations, ever changing from distro to distro.

Even after days of tireless research I was unable to decipher exactly where what is stored on my system, nor was I able to find anyone else on the net who could make sense of this KDE menu mess.

Just the opposite, I found many, many others who had the exact same problems I do.
The inability to determine when what kind of menu item does or does not show up in the menu.
By now what is listed in my menu editor has little or nothing to do with what my actual menu shows.

I had it with this nonsense!

I'm throwing KDE as far away as possible and I'll be moving on to Enlightenment.

Whoever decided on that new KDE menu structure should have his/her brains examined!!!

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Blues

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7

Tuesday, June 5th 2007, 4:39pm

Running X server as root is the most silliest thing a computer user can do. Everybody agrees it's absolutely not necessary.
Try to become a Linux noob - i. e. someone who knows rules and tries to follow them, stop being a Windows user who has got his hands on Linux.

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bones

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8

Wednesday, June 6th 2007, 9:23am

Quoted

Originally posted by Blues
Running X server as root is the most silliest thing a computer user can do. Everybody agrees it's absolutely not necessary.
Try to become a Linux noob - i. e. someone who knows rules and tries to follow them, stop being a Windows user who has got his hands on Linux.

If you @#!$ really think I skipped Windoze with all its imposed limitations and prohibitions only to end up being dictated to by some self-appointed Linux mob, then you are truly deluded.

Besides the fact that all you people seem to want is to start a flame war (because NONE of this has ANYTHING to do with the original problem at hand - KDE's TOTALLY MESSED UP MENU STRUCTURE)
fact still is that I do on my machine AS I PLEASE.

That's why I spend thousands of $$$ on it and to be frank, ITS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BEEZ WAX.

If I feel like it, I'll use my CPU as a freakin toaster oven and it would still be one of your biz.
And I log onto my box as root when I damn like it.

Heck, most of my time at work is spend working as "root" and then I'm supposed to be "verboten" root status on my very own system??

And I think I already forgot more about (real) Unix usage than some script kiddy like you will ever learn - so skip the hyperbole and the posturing.
Its not impressive, just pathetic.

Want some fries with that flaming BBQ you started? :-)

This post has been edited 3 times, last edit by "bones" (Jun 6th 2007, 9:25am)

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Blues

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9

Wednesday, June 6th 2007, 1:44pm

Hehee.

You admit you do not know the dangers and you still want to run X as root. Oh, man. How stupid can a person be? This is posted not for you, bones. Your IQ denies you to understand it. For everybody else, there are very good reasons why we do not run as root in the POSIX world. It presents dangers to your system and others.

Quoted

Originally Posted by chort on LQ
Running everything as root is no different than how most people run Windows, as Administrator. It has the exact same security problems. The more popular Linux gets, the more exploits are written for it. Since the rapid growth of the LAMP install base, a huge number of exploits have been developed for PHP applications. If Linux on the Desktop ever catches on, you can bet there will be a ton of exploits for that as well. If you're running as root when you get exploited by a bug in Firefox or GAIM, your whole system can be affected.

Also remember, it's not only the damage to your own system, it's mostly about the damage your system causes to others. Historically most exploits were written by hobbyists for "fun" or to prove a point. Usually they didn't do that much damage, but enough to get noticed (such as delete all image files, or all Word documents, etc). Contemporary malware writers do so for profit. They go to great lengths to hide the fact that they've compromised your system as they use it for sending spam, hosting phishing sites, or running automated attack bots that exploit other sites.

There are two very dangerous assumptions being made: a) that you will notice that your box has been compromised and b) that the compromise will only affect you. Both of them are likely to be incorrect. I could throw in a third dangerous assumption as well: c) Linux is more secure than Windows "just because".

This post has been edited 3 times, last edit by "Blues" (Jun 6th 2007, 1:46pm)

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Blues

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Posts: 19

10

Wednesday, June 6th 2007, 2:17pm

Quoted

Heck, most of my time at work is spend working as "root" and then I'm supposed to be "verboten" root status on my very own system??

How comes every Windows user feels the need to "work as root". And Linux users, incl most experienced ones don't? Sure, there are times when one has to log in as root to manage the system - using console or terminal and CLI. But there is never need to work as root.

Quoted

And I think I already forgot more about (real) Unix usage than some script kiddy like you will ever learn

Uh oh ah! We all believe this! :tongue:

And we all bow before you, a big UNIX guru ... who sounds exactly as a Windows noob making his first steps in Linux world.

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bmfan

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11

Thursday, June 7th 2007, 10:01am

damn he asked a question and got nothing but replys completly un related to his problem, and you wonder why he got pissed.... amaziing truly amazing...

the logic behind running as root (which im against) was not his question !

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Blues

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Thursday, June 7th 2007, 12:53pm

bmfan

On these forums on the internet one usually gets what he/she is asking for. He was given a gentle remainder there is a problem with his attitude and he went ballistic. Indeed, he is having transition problems best described here: http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm , #3 in particular but the rest also applies.
Nobody should underestimate security problems. Do you know an estimated 40% of desktops are hijacked by criminals and used for spamming, break-in and DoS attacks? If you run a financially successful web site and have to pay a monthly ransom "or else we shut you down", what would be your attitude toward idiots like our friend bones here?

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bmfan

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Thursday, June 7th 2007, 5:51pm

considering reply after reply, had nothing at all to do with his question. i thought he showed restraint in his replys

he said it best in his first reply, if you dont have anything to contribute to the actual topic why post at all.

it would be like if you posted a topic hypotheticaly about a C++ question, and you got replys like, why are you using C++ , java is the way to go....

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bones

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Posts: 6

14

Saturday, June 9th 2007, 4:06pm

Quoted

Originally posted by Blues
bmfan
If you run a financially successful web site and have to pay a monthly ransom "or else we shut you down", what would be your attitude toward idiots like our friend bones here?

What the heck have u been smoking to compare me to a blackmailing criminal?
I think one reason why so many professional systems admins want nothing to do with Linux are "off the rocker" Linux id@#$! like you Mr.
First, I'm working on a Laptop here which is supercharged with all the monitoring, firewall'ing and anti-spy, anti-virus SW available out there - even so the "advise" I got from yet another Linux zealot like you was that only "Windoze users like myself" would be so concerned about viruses and spy-ware, as such just wouldn't really exist on Linux.

A statement as wrong as it is silly and yes, I ignored his unrelated ramblings, too.
So the very assumption that my system could be easily used for DoS attacks or to even accuse me of helping those along is not just insulting, it also clearly demonstrates your lack of know how in this area.

Second, since this is MY laptop, it is never online w/o me monitoring it.

And thirdly, I am getting tired of having to argue and waste band with about totally unrelated issues with people WHO ARE CLEARLY NOT INTERESTED IN HELPING HERE.

Finally, it was not me who designed Linux in a way that one has to be root for every single system administration/configuration change or program install.
And since I am still in the process of setting this box up, I will continue working as root for as long as it takes to get the setup finished.

But I will stay away from forums like this one and will tell my customers to stay away from Linux, too, as it is obvious that the ratio of flamers to really helpful people is just not worth the hassle.

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Blues

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Posts: 19

15

Saturday, June 9th 2007, 4:46pm

Quoted

Finally, it was not me who designed Linux in a way that one has to be root for every single system administration/configuration change or program install.

Dear readers.
Here you see how a person - probably proficient in Windows - is missing an essential part of his computer education, even literacy, I'd say.
No user of a computer should have more rights than needed to do his/her work. Period. Should one need to use a particular hardware device (say: scanner) - this user is to be added to the scanner group. Another user needs to access a shared volume - he is to be added to it's users group. ACL offers even more fine control.
This is the cornerstone of computer security, unfortunately almost non-existing in the MS world. They [MS and MS users] produce insecure environment and then try to clean out the malware and viruses. In UNIX we prevent this crap entering into our systems.
Everybody who has a little experience (and education) with POSIX systems (Mac OSX, UNIX, Linux) knows it. Most Windows users making their first steps in Linux try to accustom to the computer security despite it's an uncharted land for them.
But as always, a few think they know everything about computing because they've used Windows for years and thus do not need to learn any more. They are eventually the ones who provide tools to [cyber] criminals.
I used to tell my friends POSIX sytems are secure. I think I was wrong. Ultimately this is the weakest link that determines the strength. An uneducated user as bones here can successfully bypass the whole security provided by a *NIX sytem - in most cases even without knowing what (s)he has done.

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Blues

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Posts: 19

16

Saturday, June 9th 2007, 5:22pm

@ bones

Quoted

First, I'm working on a Laptop here which is supercharged with all the monitoring, firewall'ing and anti-spy, anti-virus SW available out there - even so the "advise" I got from yet another Linux zealot like you was that only "Windoze users like myself" would be so concerned about viruses and spy-ware, as such just wouldn't really exist on Linux.

Don't you worry, if sufficient number of people like you runs Linux then there will be malware/viruses for Linux.
BTW, imagine there is a two-line road. Is it acceptable to use the left line if there is no upcoming traffic? Nope, you use the left line only for passing and return to your line when you are done. This is how we use root account in UNIX - only when absolutely needed.

Quoted

Second, since this is MY laptop, it is never online w/o me monitoring it.

This once again demonstrates how heavily your thinking is windowized. Monitoring is the second line of defense, it's dealing with consequences. The first line of defense is missing in Windows - this does not mean it is missing in UNIX!

You really need to understand nobody is in position to demand anything in the OSS world. Your attitude totally sucks. We are not paid here to solve your problems. You had two problems - one little one and another big one. All people who responded here have chosen to address the big problem first. This is our choice and you are the one who turned rude. Shame on you.

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bmfan

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17

Saturday, June 9th 2007, 10:42pm

he had one problem, his menu didnt work, it was everyone who responded that was rude. not him. again no can even see it which is sad.. and makes most *nix forums very unfriendly places...

his kde menu did not work, so he sought help. received no help whatsoever was only criticized for running as root, while i agree running as root is not a good idea, his question was not "is it a good idea to run as root?"

to put it another way, lets say he asked about a problem with his kde menu, and everyone who responded said. "KDE, what are your doing using kde, you should be using gnome"

rather then just jumping all over him for running as root, maybe you could of helped him address the problem with his menu, and then suggested that running as root is not advisable.

or if you had no desire to help him with his menu problem, simply don't post...

I bet he would of been great full for you help, and took you advice about running as root under consideration. instead i bet he never asks a single question in a *nix forum again

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kriko

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Posts: 127

Location: Slovenia

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Sunday, June 10th 2007, 6:13pm

Try to open a new account (use YaST) and login. If you see screensaver list in it, then it's something wrong with account-specific kde configuration (files are in ~/.kde). Otherwise, try to reinstall kde (use smart or yast, I reccommend smart).