Linux Operating System

Terminal:

Linux is the operating system I've come to love using with all of its pros and cons. Of the mass amount of information I am able to tell the reader, I think a good place to start is at the terminal, since a lot of problems are caused and solved by changing and configuring files and applications from the terminal, having this level of access to the Linux operating system can be dangerous. I've solved a lot of problems with the terminal as well as crippled the operating system with this tool. The terminal is a access panel, of sorts that allows you to change, move and configure files that the operating system is allowed to manage. 

There are two main levels of access on a linux operating system. Root, and non-root. The non-root access level is allowed to use applications and read files, and thats it. The non-root level of access is not allowed to change or configure any files or applications on the operating system.

non-root EXAMPLE:

anon@anon-Inspiron-3521:~$ apt-get update

E: Could not open lock file /var/lib/apt/lists/lock - open (13: Permission denied)

E: Unable to lock directory /var/lib/apt/lists/

E: Could not open lock file /var/lib/dpkg/lock - open (13: Permission denied)

E: Unable to lock the administration directory (/var/lib/dpkg/), are you root?

Here I have tried to update the operating system from the /etc/apt/sources.list, but i cannot because I am using my non-root level of access. The root level access controls everything on the computer, and without it you cannot change or in this case update the operating system. With the root level access, i am able to change or update or configure any file or application i need. To get to the root level access on my linux operating system i will use the trustee "sudo" command. HINT:(If you put "bash" after the "sudo" you can keep the root level access in the terminal for that terminals session Eg. "sudo bash")

root EXAMPLE:

anon@anon-Inspiron-3521:~$ sudo apt-get update

[sudo] password for anon: 

Hit http://repo.steampowered.com precise InRelease

Ign http://security.ubuntu.com trusty-security InRelease                       

Ign http://us.archive.ubuntu.com trusty InRelease                              

Hit http://repo.steampowered.com precise/steam Sources                         

Hit http://security.ubuntu.com trusty-security Release.gpg                     

Ign http://us.archive.ubuntu.com trusty-updates InRelease                      

Ign http://us.archive.ubuntu.com trusty-backports InRelease                    

Hit http://security.ubuntu.com trusty-security Release                         

Hit http://repo.steampowered.com precise/steam amd64 Packages                  

Ign http://extras.ubuntu.com trusty InRelease                                  

Hit http://us.archive.ubuntu.com trusty Release.gpg                            

Hit http://security.ubuntu.com trusty-security/main Sources                    

Get:1 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com trusty-updates Release.gpg [933 B]          

Hit http://repo.steampowered.com precise/steam i386 Packages                   

Ign http://mirror.sifnt.net.au jaunty InRelease 

(There is more but it is far too long to put here)

Etc.....    

As you can see "sudo" followed by typing in my password allowed me to update my linux operating system. Having this level of access can be very useful and effective when you want something that requires a higher level of permission, like updating.

WARNING:

Having this level of permission on your computer can be dangerous. Having all this power over your operating system can be very tempting to try and configure files or application which you don't fully understand to begin with. That being said, I advise you to only use the terminal for updating and upgrading purposes. If you need to install a application it should be in the software center, if its not i advise you not to install it.