linuxgeek: Re: [LINUX_Newbies] Two users on one computer

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Re: [LINUX_Newbies] Two users on one computer

Good afternoon
Mi Jul 17 16:39:46 2013
Thank You for help.

> >
> > | There is a way also to assume the active .Xauthority file from a
> > | different login shell for a priveledged user (or something like
> that). And
> > | that is probably the way it should be done.
> >
> > Yes. I have a script somewhere to read xauth credentials from one
> > file for insertion into the current user's xauth file.
>
> I think you only need to point at the .Xauthority file and have read
> access to make it work. Note that ".Xauthority" is a file that the
> active X-server uses, whereas "xauth" is a separate program that can
> be used to manipulate/edit .Xauthority.
>
> > Not hard at
> > all, but the script needs to have access, when means being root or
> > the other user.
> >
>
> No, you may need elevated privilege to set up graphical access, but
> not to actually start a windowed program as a different user. That is
> unnecessary. Ok, I have now "googled" to refresh my memory. The
> following article by Ian Shields offers a fairly detailed explanation
> of several options.
>
> <http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-basics/section6.html>
*
Thank You.

>
> xhost is very simple (item 9 in the article), but will require the
> user to research and evaluate whether they are concerned with the
> security of that or any option that is chosen.
>
> For anyone interested: My search string to find the above in Google
> was as follows: "linux use X window as different user" The above
> article was the second result, while a stackoverflow post with related
> discussion was the first.

*
Thank You
Good idea.

>
> >| At least since Ubuntu 10.04, there has been a "switch user" from the
> >| login/out options. It suspends the session of the active user, and
> lets a
> >| different user log into their own desktop environment, I think in a
> >| different tty.
> >
> > That sounds like what Sophie wants. Two desktops, one as user1 and
> > one as user2. Nice and separate. Sharing one desktop with apps of
> > multiple users is a potential security issue.
>
> Logging in and out all of the time and navigating away from the active
> work flow to view a single program in X would be a pain, especially
> when it is designed to handle more than one user at a time. But that
> is just my opinion.
>
> More complete manuals with better description:
> Xauth <http://www.x.org/releases/X11R7.7/doc/man/man1/xauth.1.xhtml>
> Xhost <http://www.x.org/releases/X11R7.7/doc/man/man1/xhost.1.xhtml>
> Xsecurity offers some explanation of the content of .Xauthority:
> <http://www.x.org/releases/X11R7.7/doc/man/man7/Xsecurity.7.xhtml>
>

Thank You.

Regards
Sophie