Being root

[Amedee Van Gasse (Ubuntu)]

On Wed, June 24, 2009 13:09, Avi Greenbury wrote:
> Tony Baldwin wrote:
>
>>
>> http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-34089.html
>> There is no root acct on ubuntu by default, but it can be created
>> (just as sudo can be enabled in other distros where su/root is the
>> default, as I have done on my debian box).
>>
>
> Again, minor technicality. There *is* a root account on Ubuntu (there
> needs to be one for the normal functioning of the OS), but it has no
> password set at install time. Hence the means of 'activating' the account
> is to give it a password.

A minor technicality on your minor technicality. :-)
There *is* a root password, but is encrypted/scrambled/random (whatever
you want to call it). Hence the means of 'activating' the account is to
give it a *new* password.