For many years, Kali Linux adhered to a policy of default root access for users, a practice inherited from BackTrack Linux. On December 31, 2019, the developers of Kali Linux decided to switch to a more "classic" policy — the absence of root rights for the user in the default session. This change will be implemented in the 2020.1 release of the distribution, but if desired, it can already be tested by downloading one of the nightly or weekly builds.
A Bit of History and Theory
Originally based on Slackware, BackTrack Linux included nothing but a vast array of tools for penetration testing. Since many of these tools required root access, and the distribution was intended solely for use in Live mode from a disk, the most obvious and straightforward solution was to make root access the default for the user.
Over time, the popularity of the distribution grew, and users began to install it on their hardware instead of merely using it in the "bootable disk" mode. Thus, in February 2011, it was decided to switch from Slackware to Ubuntu to reduce user issues and allow for timely updates. After some time, the basis of Kali became Debian Linux.
Although The developers do not encourage the use of the Kali distribution as a primary OS, yet many users inexplicably do so, even when not utilizing the distribution for its intended purpose — conducting penetration tests. Notably, some members of the distribution's development team also do this.
In such use cases, default root access is more of a hindrance than a benefit, which is why it was decided to transition to a "traditional" security model — a user without root access by default.
The developers fear that this decision will lead to a multitude of error reports, but the security of using the distribution remains paramount.
Source: linux.org.ru
