In general, the root account belongs to the system administrator. The root account is sometimes also called the super user. As the root user, you can read, modify, or delete any files on the system, and change permissions and ownerships of any file or directory.
Logging in to the system using the root account lets you have system privileges that other users do not have. There are no security restrictions on the root account, so therefore you might inadvertently make changes that have serious ramifications for the operating system and its users. You can decrease the risk of damaging the system by logging out of the root account as soon as you complete a task.
Using the root account, you can
manage system users and groups
set permissions and ownerships for files and directories
view system information
install, update, and remove applications from the system
abort all system processes
Note
Even if you are the only user on the system, you should set up a different account that you can use when not performing administration functions. Log in to the root account only when it is necessary to perform system administration duties.