So at it's core this is really a documentation issue. If the dialog box contained a single line stating the application the password is stored for and when the password storage will expire then I would be willing to add the checkbox back. Poorly defined or unknown/obscure behaviour is not a good thing when dealing with root access ;-)
The application is already stated in the dialog box. However, the text is not obvious and tends to just blend with the box. Perhaps the app information should be bolded or be more verbose. For example, use KRunner to type kdesu kate and this is what appears:
Command: kate
Perhaps that can be changed to:
Command: Run kate as root
I don't remember all the individual source files, but I seem to recall the "Keep password" check box widget is in kdelibs while the kdesu dialog box is part of kdebase. Any additional "notice" would have to be provided in the kdesu dialog box.
Right now the kdesu dialog looks like this:
======================================= Run as root - KDE su ======================================= The action you requested needs root privileges. Please enter root's password below or click Ignore to continue with your current privileges.
Command: kate Password: _________________
|_| Keep password
Ignore OK Cancel=======================================
Perhaps underneath the Keep password widget, only when the user enables the check box, the following text appears dynamically:
Keeping the password is good only for X hours, only for kate, and only for this session.
The duration X is fetched from defaults.h.
If the user does not enable the check box the text does not appear. By appearing dynamically, the potential security risk is more obvious. Or the warning text could be ghosted when the check box is disabled and unghosted when enabled.
Darrell
I like the dynamic-show idea--it does flag it for the sysadmin, and should be discoverable enough from an interface standpoint.
Tim