[[!meta title="Administration password"]]

In Tails, an administration password is required to perform system
administration tasks.<br/>
For example:

  - To [[install additional software|doc/advanced_topics/additional_software]]
  - To [[access the internal hard disks of the computer|doc/encryption_and_privacy/your_data_wont_be_saved_unless_explicitly_asked]]
  - To execute commands with <span class="command">sudo</span>

**By default, the administration password is disabled for better security.**
This can prevent an attacker with physical or remote access to your Tails system
to gain administration privileges and perform administration tasks
against your will.

Set up an administration password
=================================

In order to perform administration tasks, you need to set up an administration
password when starting Tails, using [[<span class="application">Tails
Greeter</span>|startup_options#tails_greeter]].

1. When <span class="application">Tails Greeter</span> appears, in the
   <span class="guilabel">Welcome to Tails</span> window, click on the
   <span class="button">Yes</span> button. Then click on the
   <span class="button">Forward</span> button.

2. In the <span class="guilabel">Administration password</span> section, specify
   a password of your choice in both the <span class="guilabel">Password</span>
   and <span class="guilabel">Verify Password</span> text boxes.

<a id="open_root_terminal"></a>

How to open a root terminal
===========================

To open a root terminal during your working session, you can do any of the following:

  - Choose
    <span class="menuchoice">
      <span class="guimenu">Applications</span>&nbsp;▸
      <span class="guisubmenu">System Tools</span>&nbsp;▸
      <span class="guimenuitem">Root Terminal</span></span>.

  - Execute <span class="command">sudo -i</span> in a terminal.
