I see both does the same thing and both end me up in the same directory.So is it really the same or there is a difference?
Also doing su and su - makes me root user in both the cases.So how is it even benficial?
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I know my queston is quite the same but I didn't quite understand the difference between all of them and especially when to use what.Souvik Ray– Souvik Ray2017-08-08 11:20:39 +00:00Commented Aug 8, 2017 at 11:20
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What parts didn't you understand?muru– muru2017-08-08 11:21:55 +00:00Commented Aug 8, 2017 at 11:21
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1 Answer
Description
There are differences between them:
First of all using su username you have to provide the password of "username" to be able to switch into its account while with sudo su - username for a second with your own password you will become root, then without using any other password you are running the su - uesrname to switch into the "username".
The other difference is using - with su it will switches to the user while running a login shell, without the - you will get a non-login shell.
Conclusion:
su username:- You have to provide the target user's password
- You will be dropped into a non-login shell (things like
.profilewill not be sourced).
sudo su - username- You're using your own password to run the
sucommand as root (if you're permitted to) - You will get a login shell with the target user access.
- You're using your own password to run the
Which one to use:
It's not a good idea to share a single password between users, so it's best to not use su at all, instead we can use sudo, also there is no need to run something like:
sudo su - username
we can setup our /etc/sudoers file then use something like:
sudo -i -u username
If you have to use su, then always use it like su - to make sure everything is sourced as it should be and nothing has been compromised with.
