how to get root

[jae99]

Hello I am new to backtrack so I'm not sure what I am doing wrong. I log in as root but when I enter the following command

/etc/hostname

I get

permission deined

I checked and I have root access. Why is this. And yes I am a noob, just trying to learn. Thank you in advance.

[xX_Spiidey_Xx]

what you entered is not a command, it's a filepath.

what you wanted to enter was echo $HOSTNAME, or simply `hostname`. just because you're root doesn't mean that the tiny world on your usb stick belongs to you. there are methods to access files, and there are file permissions in place that will prevent you from accessing all files, unless you know how to change them properly.

edit: thorin is correct, cat or more will also spill the contents of /etc/hostname

just be sure not to cat or more a binary.

[thorin]

"cat /etc/hostname" might do it for you as well.

[0m3gasw1tch]

just be sure not to cat or more a binary.

Incidentally, if you do happen to cat a binary or perform some other action that lands you in symbolic terminal hell (basically where the entire terminal appears unusable because each time you press a key, it comes out as a symbol instead of the correct letter or number), try running 'reset' - it should clear things right up.

[xX_Spiidey_Xx]

try running 'reset' - it should clear things right up.

actually, a [ctrl]+c or [ctrl]+d will also do the trick, without having to open a new terminal window.