Linux® and Windows® Interoperability Guide

Operating System Security Models

Linux and Windows both have basic security models executed by the operating system. Both support authentication (authoritative identification), authorization (granting or denying access), and auditing. Both systems support the concept of “superuser.” In Windows (and Windows NT 4.0) the superuser is the administrator account. Windows grants to all members of the administrators group the same capabilities as it grants to the administrator account. The result is that users can be included in the administrators group and perform administrative actions that require elevated privileges. The Linux concept of a “superuser” is the root account. There is no root group.

Both systems support the concept of a group, which ...