You should be able to do this if you set the executable to suid root (NB: Won't work for scripts). I haven't tested this on an IT but it's standard Unix/Linux: In xterm (once): sudo gainroot chown root /path/to/executable chmod u+s /path/to/executable After this the executable should run as root (unless it's a script). NB:NB:NB: These kind of tricks lets you open to all kind of security problems, but should be ok unless you let someone else get access to your device (beware of networks).