Trump, kindly go fuck yourself.

Practical Engineering's video on this is also really good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqmOSMAtadc

I have a Tinker Edge T as a server, and it's running Mendel Linux which is a default debian-based OS recommended by the manufacturer. One thing I really don't like is the fact that if you plug in an HDMI cable and USB keyword, it will always give you access to a terminal as the default user, which doesn't even need a password to become root either. Is there a general Linux way to set a password for the GUI like you can on regular desktop Linux, or otherwise require authentication before you get a terminal or any other functionality, so someone can't just plug an HDMI cable and keyboard into the device and have root access to the entire device?

I recently dug out one of my old tablets because I wanted to use it again, but something must have fallen on it because there’s a dent about 2-3 mm deep on the back metal casing of the tablet, kind of near the middle, definitely over the battery. Plus the battery was left completely drained for well over a year (or more, can’t remember how long) which is also not great for it.

The tablet boots up and seems to still work okay, but now I’m kind of paranoid. How high is the risk that whatever dented the back of the tablet damaged the battery and now it’s just waiting to catch on fire now that I’ve started using it and subjecting it to charge-discharge cycles? Should I also be worried about the deformed back case exerting pressure on the battery and damaging it over time as the tablet moves around? Are there any red flags I should look out for that something is not right with the battery?

Basically, can I just assume it’s nothing more than cosmetic damage? Or is there a good chance that it will burn the house down?