Quote Originally Posted by PoppaGeek View Post
sudo
Lets you run a task that you do not have sufficient rights to execute.
sudo grep /var/log/syslog
password: enter root password here
Actually you enter your user password there, not the root password.

Ubuntu, by default (you can change this) doesn't have a root login or password. It's pretty much a hidden account. Sudo can be described as "super user do". It lets you execute a single command as a super user (only a hair away from the root user). If you need to execute a bunch of commands as the super user you can use the command:
Code:
sudo su
but make sure you enter:
Code:
exit
when you're done or you could leave yourself open to all sorts of nasty accidents.