Ubuntu

Keys in notification area prompting change to privileges

Asked by markling

Since reinstalling Ubuntu 9.10 and learning how to get the Notification Area working properly:

I've noticed an bunch-of-keys icon appearing intermittently in my notification area.

It appeared about 20 mins ago. I hovered the mouse over it and it generated the following text:

"Click on the icon to drop all elevated privileges"

I right-clicked on the icon, thinking I might learn something more about it. But it disappeared. No other messages were given.

It appeared again about five or ten minutes ago. I did not click on it. But it disappeared of its own accord after a minute or two.

What is this? Should I have clicked on it? What have I done? How can I get this bunch of keys under my control?

Should I be filing this as a UFO report instead of a question?

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Marc Stewart (marc.stewart) said : 		#1

Don't worry: it's not aliens.

You're probably already aware that certain system-related actions, such as installing software and updates, prompts you to enter your password as a safety measure. When you do this, you temporarily gain the elevated privileges mentioned, which allows you to make changes not permitted for ordinary users. You retain them for a little while afterwards (about 20 minutes) so that, if you're changing several things, you don't have to retype your password every single time.

If you've finished your administrative tasks (and you're slightly paranoid), you can click that icon to drop the elevated privileges immediately and return to ordinary user status, thereby limiting your (and your running programs') ability to potentially cause damage to your system. If you don't click it, there's no need to worry as the privileges will be dropped automatically soon enough, and at that time, the icon will disappear.

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