How to Add a Sudo User in Ubuntu

Why Root Login Is a Bad Daily Habit

Root bypasses every permission check, so a misplaced command has no guardrail — rm -rf with a typo'd path just runs.

Shared root logins also destroy accountability: when three people use root, logs cannot tell who changed what, and post-incident forensics dead-ends. And attackers probe constantly — automated botnets brute-force root SSH on every exposed server, every hour of every day.

The fix is per-user accounts with sudo privileges: each admin authenticates as themselves, elevates deliberately, and leaves an audit trail. Daily work happens unprivileged; dangerous commands require an explicit sudo and your own password — friction exactly where it prevents disasters.

Step 1: Create the User (adduser)

Three commands and one test:

1. Create the user — adduser priya (set a strong, unique password; skip the metadata fields).
2. Grant sudo — usermod -aG sudo priya. The -a (append) flag matters: without it you replace the user's entire group list.
3. Test before disconnecting — open a new terminal, log in as the new user, run sudo whoami and expect root back.

Test in a fresh session before you log out of the current one — an untested sudo user is how admins lock themselves out of their own VPS. Once verified, disable direct root SSH login so the new account becomes the front door.

Step 2: Grant Sudo (usermod -aG sudo)

On adduser command, the honest summary is that defaults matter more than brand names — a well-set budget plan outranks a mis-tuned premium one. WebJi® documents its defaults openly and adjusts them per ticket when workloads need it.

Step 3: Test Before You Disconnect

Two practical notes on usermod -aG sudo: it interacts directly with caching and database response, and misconfiguration is the most common cause of 'hosting is slow' tickets. WebJi® support checks it as part of standard migrations.

Optional: NOPASSWD via visudo

How this plays out with visudo and sudoers: settings that look cosmetic usually decide page speed and uptime under real traffic. The defaults WebJi® ships are tuned for Indian network conditions, and support can review your setup on request.

Disabling Root SSH Login

Remove the attacker's favourite door once your sudo user tests clean:

1. Edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config.
2. Set PermitRootLogin no.
3. Once SSH keys are deployed for all users, also set PasswordAuthentication no.
4. Apply with systemctl restart ssh.

Root still exists on the machine for console/IPMI emergencies — only SSH access to it is gone, and brute-force bots lose their target entirely. Keep one tested sudo session open while restarting SSH, so a config typo is a five-second edit rather than a rescue ticket to your VPS provider.