https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LostPassword

Am I dead ? This is Hell !!! So, a Linux password can be recovered so easily
by anybody ?

Any time someone has physical access to a computer, they can get in,
regardless of the OS.

The key is to keep the computer out of the hands of bad guys.

If there is a concern that the computer may fall into the wrong hands,
then you should encrypt the filesystems which contain valuable or
sensitive data e.g. /home, and also make backups.

with physical access to a machine that is not subjected to basic
security its easy enough. if you have the knowledge.

you can password protect bios and not have booting from other media
enabled as well as having the recovery mode password protected but if
you are prone to forgetting passwords....

maybe biometrics?

Windows passwords can be recovered just as easily... there is no operating
system that is secure if the physical console is not secure.

If I boot from a LiveCD, I have full access to the hard drive without needing a
password. This is nice for backing up files from a Windows system which has
died due to malware.

If you want to protect your files, use encryption. And don't forget the
password...

take out the hard drive and use it as a slave if bios is locked..

perhaps best just to encrypt one file with your passwords in it
using one of the password programs like

OK the system password I am talking about is the one that pops up when you
add packages through synaptic package manager or updates.

Same as the primary login password

Full disk encryption is probably the best way to go for physical disk security.
It does not matter then about root access, which OS, etc.

I've heard good things about http://www.truecrypt.org/ but not tried it myself
yet. I have been meaning to give it a go for months. Has anyone here tried it?

If you care more about security than performance/usability then yeah, go
full disk.

But, if you are concerned about efficiency, avoid the overhead of
encryption/decryption on every disk access and only encrypt the
partitions that actually contain personal data, e.g. the /home partition.

(you must of course have created a separate /home partition at install time)

but I thought Ubuntu home partition encryption was
linked to your user account? Therefore if anyone can reset passwords by booting
to the recovery mode, they can then use the new password with a quick reboot &
normal login, then access your data?

If so, then of course this is only an issue for laptops or those living in high
crime areas where your desktop could be stolen.

The beauty of full disk encryption would be that the recovery mode is not
accessible until after you type in your encryption p/wd. The downside is that
you are in trouble if you forget the password!!

I wanted to know if anyone had used Truecrypt & if so is it any good? Is the
performance overhead noticeable?

I am using UNR and duel boot I don't have to login.

That is not a system password. That is a SUDO-enabled user password. By default,
Ubuntu does not have a system password. Here is a tutorial on how to fix your
problem.

http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/resetpassword

If your system is set up for auto login, I recommend writing your password down.

Once you have recovered control, you can create a system password by typing
"sudo passwd root" at a CLI.

That asks for your account password - the one you use to log in every day.

Problem solved! The winner is Henry with his link about SUDO-enabled user
password. Thanks Henry! There is still a lot of confusion on the list. I was
not looking for a file or drive encryption password but rather an
administrator password for system updates and adding new programs. Anyway
now I am happy and my family is allowing me to be around sharp objects,
inside tall buildings and gave me my belt and shoelaces again.