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Microsoft 'Sudo' Patent No Danger To Unix

The recent "Rights elevator" patent granted to Microsoft covers a graphic user interface element.

By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek
November 13, 2009 06:41 PM

A patent granted to Microsoft has stirred up worry that world's largest software company wants to claim Unix's "sudo" as its own.

Sudo is a Unix program used to raise a user's privilege level to accomplish tasks that require administrative privileges. It allows a user to temporarily execute commands as the root user.

Microsoft's "Rights elevator" patent describes a way to "enable a user to elevate his or her rights," which of course is what "sudo" does.

To continue reading the rest of the story, please go to Does New Microsoft Patent Infringe On Unix Program Sudo? on our sister site, Dark Reading.

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Microsoft 'Sudo' Patent No Danger To Unix

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