Is there a way to fix admin privledges once and for all?

Question

This is driving me mad. I am on a Mac OSX 10.6.8. I have been to the info box and given myself read and write privileges. I am the sole owner of my computer, yet I get told that I do not have admin privileges when I try to change things. For instances I am trying to update Ruby in my Terminal and am told I do not have write permission. I DO have write permission. I AM the admin. It is crazy and I am pulling my hair out. I have searched all over and cannot seem to find out how to fix this. Can someone help? Thanks.

Answer 1

This a security measure to prevent other software you may execute from modifying the system without your knowledge. Prefix an administrative command with sudo and you'll be prompted to enter your password. After that the command will execute with elevated privileges necessary to modify system files/settings.

Answer 2

Like soandos said, the operating system matters a lot here.

But I can point out that most modern OS's (unix based systems do this routinely, but Windows makes some use of it too) can run a process at less than full privileges for security reasons. So, if you are using something like a terminal window, the priveleges for the process can be just as significant as the priveleges for the user account.