On Nov 19, 2011, at 10:26 PM, Daniel Johnson wrote:

> Sudo uses the password of your current user.
> 
> Su uses the password of the user you are switching to.

Correct, unless you are root switching to another user, then su doesn't require 
a password at all.

> With either if you don't specify which user to switch to default to root.

sudo gives one the ability to run a subset of programs, or all, as specified in 
the config file. This could give one root privileges, or let you run programs 
as a different user, say 'postgres' for instance. That way, you can give 
someone the ability to run a task as a different user, without giving them the 
key to the whole system. 

I don't believe sudo has a 'default' user it runs things at. 

If a user does not have the ability to run su under sudo, then they can't 
switch to another users login.

Russell Johnson
[email protected]



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