Super-User Nags [Solved]

[muskt]

I find that the never-ending nagging about "Super-User/Administrator Authorizations/Supreme Being Powers (Pick your favorite)" to be mostly unnecessary. Please do not attempt to explain about that being a security feature. I have heard the choir sing that hymn many times, and I do not participate in that congregation. I have opened this same topic in the past and was assisted in my quest to eliminate all of that (expletive deleted) nagging from my computer by adding a small file to my system that allows me to operate my computer as I desire (I say again "As I Desire"). I cannot believe that I am the only user who does not desire to be constantly told "You cannot do that without proving that you have Supreme Being Powers". Once logged in, why do I need to repeatedly prove that I am me? I understand the risks and I am willing to accept them.

So, here is my question--Is it possible to add to MX Tools an item that will allow users to install a "fix" and therefore eliminate those endless nags if the user chooses to do so? I agree that that item would need to (one time, maybe even two times) inform the user that doing so is considered a security risk and not recommended. Let the user beware!

I am attempting to create a poll below. I have absolutely no idea how to do it. If it works, great. If not, I am certain that there will be many replies-with a great many telling that I am an idiot. My preemptive response will be "You cannot hurt my feelings---I used to hold a flashlight for my dad."

Thanks,
Muskt

[AVLinux]

"You cannot hurt my feelings---I used to hold a flashlight for my dad."

Thanks,
Muskt

That one made me spit up my coffee, great line!

[BitterTruth]

Necessary evil. What really winds me up is not having the /sbin directories in my $PATH (which debian insists on). Every time you try to run a command, instead of permission denied, you get "command not found" which throws you off because you're pretty sure you installed the thing!

Thank God, the MX devs add them in.

[Eadwine Rose]

You can log in as root, or maybe put root rights on your user. The first will eliminate them. When you do that, though, prepare to hold a LOT of flashlights. Dunno about what happens with the second.

[RedGreen925]

Necessary evil. What really winds me up is not having the /sbin directories in my $PATH (which debian insists on).

I have had this snippet in my standard version of the .bashrc I use for years to solve that problem.

Code: Select all

# set PATH so it includes /sbin if running distro without it in the PATH like Debian Buster.
needpath=$(which fdisk)

if [ -z $needpath ] ; then
    PATH="/sbin:$PATH"
fi

[Nokkaelaein]

Once logged in, why do I need to repeatedly prove that I am me? I understand the risks and I am willing to accept them.

Your preferences are one thing, and that's fine, I hope you find a solution to run your computer the way you like. Just know that you are indeed misunderstanding what it means when some program asks for elevated privileges when it's performing some action. A layman's intuition might wrongly assume the security is thought to stem from you proving that you are who you say you are, time and time again. Again, your preferences are fine, and in turn the whole tone and description of the "issue" shows a very superficial understanding of how/why a program might want higher privileges than the ones you are normally running things at. So, yeah, focus on the part of it being some action a program will perform. You do not perform the action, the program does, and that shift of viewpoint might open up some fresh understanding of what things like this are about. I say the third time, no issue with your preferences, you just should know this isn't some silly thing you have all figured out for actual justifications to poo-poo like you did above.

[Stuart_M]

...
...I have absolutely no idea how to do it. If it works, great.
...

I'm not sure if you're asking how to remove all the password popup windows from GUI applications requiring elevated privileges or if you're only asking if it can be made as an option in MX Tools (MX Tweak?). Regardless, to eliminate the password popup windows, I think the below will (should?) do what you're looking for.

It tested fine for me using MX-23.6 Xfce on a downloaded ISO file as well as on an installed test installation so that I could test rebooting it. That was done to ensure a reboot would be problem-free, and as expected, everything worked fine and dandy.

Note that the method presented here will only remove the password popups for GUI applications requiring elevated privileges. It will NOT eliminate the need for elevated privileges (sudo) when using the Terminal. That can certainly be done and it is easy to do. For that the /etc/sudoers file will need to be edited using sudo visudo but that is not what the Original Poster asked for, so I will not comment further.

You never gave which version of MX Linux you're using so here is the solution to MX-19.4, MX-21.3, and MX-23.6 - all Xfce. If you are using something other than Xfce then I cannot help since I only use Xfce.

For MX-23.6 Xfce
The below is how to remove the password popups in MX-23.6 Xfce. (Note that a quicker way that eliminates the below four steps follows below.)


1. In Thunar as root, go to /etc/polkit-1/rules.d/

2. In the rules.d directory, create a file and name it 49-nopasswd_global.rules (it does NOT need to be executable)

3. Add the text from the below code window to the newly created file in Step 2. IMPORTANT: change UserName to the User Name that you use, keeping it inside the double-quotes.

4. Save (the effect is immediate).

Code: Select all

/* Allow members in "UserName" group to execute any actions without password authentication. */
 
polkit.addRule(function(action, subject) {
    if (subject.isInGroup("UserName")) {
        return polkit.Result.YES;
    }
});

This Screenshot shows the newly created file in a red rectangle in root Thunar:

Thunar_root_no_passwords_global_rules.png

========================================================================
An easier way to create the above file, eliminating the four steps entirely, is to just run the command in the following code window.

IMPORTANT: Ensure that you change the User Name Demo used in this example to your User Name. There are two places; the first is the comment line, the second is on the "if" line of the code. If that line does not have your User Name then it will not work. Also remember to keep the User Name inside the two double-quotes. The empty line at the bottom of the file is intentional.

Code: Select all

sudo tee /etc/polkit-1/rules.d/49-nopasswd_global.rules <<!
/* Allow members in "Demo" group to execute any actions without password authentication. */
 
polkit.addRule(function(action, subject) {
    if (subject.isInGroup("Demo")) {
        return polkit.Result.YES;
    }
});
!
 

When pasting the above command into the Terminal, a warning message will appear (see below Screenshot). It is okay to ignore the warning. The reason for the warning message is because the command has at least one "Enter" character, and several are necessary for file to be created.

This is also a good opportunity to confirm that the correct User Name is being used.

Just accept it by clicking on "Paste" and then press "Enter" to run the command.

Terminal_warning_paste_command_w-CR-LF.png

========================================================================
The following applications were tested after the above change and all of them worked fine with NONE OF THEM producing any password popup window prompts.

• GParted
• LightDM GTK+ Greeter settings (also tested changing a setting)
• MX Package Installer (MXPI - also tested installing a package)
• Synaptic
• Firewall configuration
• Disk Manager
• Thunar > R-Click > select “Open root Thunar here”
• FeatherPad as user > edit a file owned by root > save
• MX Updater
• MX Snapshot
• MX Tweak > Other tab > change “Password for administrative tasks”

========================================================================




For MX-21.3 and MX-19.4 both Xfce
The method shown above for MX-23 Xfce will NOT work in MX-19 or MX-21. For those two versions, do the following:

1. Using root Thunar, go to /var/lib/polkit-1/localauthority/50-local.d/

2. In the 50-local.d directory, create a file and name it whatever you want, as long as it has a .pkla extension, e.g. disable_gui_root_passwords.pkla (remember, do not use any spaces in this file name). Also, this file does not need to be executable.

3. Enter the below text in the newly created (Step 2) file. IMPORTANT: The below example uses Demo for the file name. Remember to change "Demo" to whatever your User Name is.

Code: Select all

[Disable GUI root password requirement]
Identity=unix-user:Demo
Action=*
ResultActive=yes

4. Save. The change works immediately so there is no need to reboot or log out/in.



I tested all of the above and everything works for me. Some of the above is sourced from https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/20 ... on-ubuntu/ "Disable Password Authentication Popups in Ubuntu 24.04" last updated 21 September 2024. Even though it says it's for Ubuntu 24.04, it works fine in MX Linux.

[muskt]

Thank you Stuart_M. I already have that solution installed in both of my computers, and have for a few years. My goal in posting the question was to possibly assist other users to "fix" their computers, as well. I vowed to myself not to get into any kind of arguments over the topic, and I plan to stick to that vow. I understand that many users (as shown by the responses to my poll) either like the nags or do not really care. It makes no difference to me; however, I thought that the option to "fix" their computers with that small file that you posted could be of some value to some users. I feel that eliminating the nags from my computers was a positive enhancement not terribly different from removing or modifying Conky (that is just an example). Both of my computers are dual-booted with Windows 11 (The dark side rears its ugly head). Both work pretty much as I desire. Since I do not possess the necessary knowledge to do some things in MX, I occasionally ask for help on this forum. Usually; however, I just remain under my rock and read and search till I find the answer.
Thank You.
Muskt

[arjaybe]

I don't think of them as nags.

[Melber]

... I cannot believe that I am the only user who does not desire to be constantly told "You cannot do that without proving that you have Supreme Being Powers"...

Current poll results would suggest otherwise.
(btw. I realise nr.6 is a joke, but having two disagree and 3 agree answers skews the poll unfairly)

My question is: What are you doing that you are constantly being asked for root privileges?