So far, you’ve done all the work on your Linux box while logged on as root.
This is necessary in order to access certain files and to perform other
administrative tasks.
However, even with a firewall, it’s a really bad idea to be connected to the
Internet while logged on as root. If someone cracks your firewall, they can not
only take over your machine but can also read any sensitive files, such as your
pap-secrets file which contains your username and password.
Similarly, logging on as root enables anyone who has easy access to the
machine to pry on sensitive information. At the very least, you want your
Internet password to be kept secret, to prevent someone else from running up a
big bill at your expense.
In short, connecting to the Internet while logged in as root is like playing
"Russian Roulette". Your machine could end up being "owned" by someone else –
perhaps from another country.
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Tip 1: Mounting Devices In Linux
Unlike Windows, Linux doesn't use drive letters. Instead,
external disk drives and other resources (such as network shares) are "mounted"
by attaching them to the file system. If you don’t do this, the files won’t be
visible.
The point at which the device is attached is referred to as the
"mount point". For example, on most systems, floppy disk drives and CD-ROM
drives are attached to the /mnt folder (automatically set up
during installation), so that they become /mnt/floppy and
/mnt/cdrom.
To mount a CD-ROM or floppy disk in KDE or Gnome, insert the
disk, then right-click its icon on the desktop and choose "mount" from the
drop-down list. Alternatively, left-clicking the icon mounts the device and
opens the file manager to display the files.
Similarly, a device should always be unmounted before the disk
is removed; ie, right-click the device icon on the desktop and choose "unmount" from the menu.
You can also mount and unmount devices from the terminal prompt. Type man mount for more details.
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