Fast user switching - alternate quick root application rights

[David Timms]

Rudolf Kastl wrote:
> 2006/2/21, David Timms <dtimms at bigpond.net.au>:
>> Gerry Tool wrote:
>>> I agree.  User switching should not even be in Windows XP.  It causes a
>>> lot of confusion with laziness being the most usual reason for using it.
>> I find that when admin'ing a machine that the ability to tell a GUI tool
>> that I want it to start with root rights would be handy. My current
>> method is invike a terminal, su - in that terminal, then start the app,
>> in background.
>>
>> I know that some apps (I guess ones that are marked as being useless
>> without root access), invoke the ~"please give root password" dialog.
>> Is there already a nice way to start other programs (most common example
>> for me: nmapfe and gnome-terminal) as root (or even another user) ?
>>
>> DaveT.

> 
> just use consolehelper and to mass deploy it just create an rpm
> package adding the consolehelper stuff 
I can see the consolehelper config files, thanks very much for that 
info, I see now how pup/ethereal achieve this.

> for e.g. gnome-terminal calling
> it something like gnome-terminal-rootaccess and let it depend on
> gnome-terminal.
I've never created an rpm before, but perhaps a generic rpm to achieve 
what you describe above, or a package to do what I describe below...

> I just dont see where this is different to opening a terminal and
> typing su -. dont even t hink it can be faster accessed etc.
Perhaps there could be a panel icon for application-root-access; if you 
drag and drop on application icon from the menu/panel, then the ~"give 
me the root password" would be shown and if password success the app 
start with root rights.

I think that could be a fair solution, what do other people think ?
Would such a method be technically impossible or extremely difficult or 
bad for security ?

> autologin into an environment as root isnt the way of "admining" id propose.
I wasn't  meaning auto login, just to avoid:
1. go to menu, find terminal (applications/accesories/terminal)
2. type su -
3. enter password
4. type the name of the app you want. (remember that the name is usually 
very different from what is provided in the menus, so you need to find 
out/know this as well).

The proposal would reduce this to:
1. drag drop icon from 1 onto the ~"give me more rights" icon.
2. enter password.

This is from an admin who finds himself doing version 1 of these steps 
(what feels like) hundreds of times a day. A nice quick / obvious tool 
as described above may be very useful to others as well...?

ps. the other common one I use is nautilus (as root), then you can use 
the ctrl-l location copy-paste in a terminal window, or sometimes just 
move files/folders or fix rights problems directly.