The Root Account

In recent years, there has been a trend toward using the privileged root account for everyday tasks on systems that have only a single user.[13] Using a privileged account to read your email and browse the Web increases your risks from both user errors and malicious attacks. While a careless keystroke by a regular user will generate only a permission denied error, that same keystroke by root might render your system unusable and destroy all your data. Even if you’re the only person using your OpenBSD system, you must use an unprivileged user account for day-to-day tasks.

If an intruder compromises an unprivileged account, the potential damage is limited only by that user’s permissions. If the compromised account handles your ...

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