How do I reset "sudo" - I am the admin!

red_menace wrote:
You don't want just any account to be able to run as the superuser (or another user), so sudo usage is restricted to those that are listed in the sudoers file. The administrator accounts are included in sudoers, but you will need to manually edit it for others.

Ok, so how to I safely and easily add a standard user to that "list" without screwing anything up?

Got it - I think.

I copied the sudo file that was my mothers iMac. I put it in the same spot on my MacBook, changed the permissions to 440, the owner and group to 0, etc so everything would match up. Terminal no longer gives me the error and prompts for the password, so it is working!

Come to think of it, I could have just used a time machine backup! Oh well.

HOWEVER here is the thing that I still do not understand about SUDO:

I have three accounts on my system. "Admin" is an admin and is used by NO ONE. "Scott" is a standard account that I use as my main account, and "Guest" which is also a standard user and is only used by guests. (I know there is a "guest" feature, however, it erases all the settings and stuff at log out, which means I can't set default programs like Firefox instated of safari, etc.

So my question is, "SUDO" is used for when you need to do something with more permissions then you have, so that is why it asks for your password. However, whenever I've used it, I put in my password, and it always says that I am not in the sudoers file and the incident will be reported.

So whats the point? I still have to login to "Admin" (the admin account) and use the terminal, so whats the point of sudo if I can't use it? I looked about putting my name in the file (which I think is how I got it screwed up in the first place!) but then a lot of people said that you should not do that because it opens up a lot of security concerns.

So, is there something i'm just not understanding here or something?

PLEASE educate me!

Thanks,
Scott

I guess this is solved - I got it back to the way it was, however I still can not add my account to that "list." But it looks like it will be easier just to switch to the admin account then figure out what I want to do and taking the risk of messing it up.

It says "permission denied" when I try that.