I have the latest firmware and xterm installed but i cant seem to use the standard su / sudo ways to get root access on my device.
I tried the default password 'rootme' but it justs says access denied.
Is the many set up in some way to prevent any root access or is there another way?

Install becomeroot.

Any idea how I can install becomeroot on the N800 ?

Yep. Enable the Eko1 repo and install from Application Manager.

http://eko.one.pl/maemo/eko1.install

Browsing arround, I found manny ways to become root, including modifying the image and then flashing it to the N800..... However I settled for installing ssh client and server. At This point I could then use putty to access the N800 remotely using the standard passwd for root.

The first thing to do then is to change the passwords for root and user. Having installed osso xterm I can also become root on the N800 by calling ssh root@<ip.addr>

For me this has so far proved to be enough, but there may be other reasons for fidling with the protection against using sudo gainroot outside of RD mode.

Anyway, hope this helps a little.

P.S: something really puzzeling is the fact the some of the gui tools like the gui for VPNC does not contain all the libraries needed, and they are really hard to find. Only solution i found was to install a program that did include the package. I.e. for the VPNC gui then the mapper (search maemo mapper)

Michael: in my opinion, you've just made your device *less* secure by assigning a password to user (which was previously password-less and impossible to log in to). You've now created a second account on the device that could be exploited, doubling your exposure.

Adding a password for user is *NOT* the first thing anyone should do, but it is the worst thing anyone can do.

If you're using PuTTY, follow these instructions which allow you to login (ssh) as "user" without compromising your device by adding a password.

Or put an insane password for the user?

If you like, but that's still exploitable and at best a pain in the arse for you to type in each time, when a better and more secure alternative exists. I tend to leave the password on the root account enabled (consider setting the root password to something insane) and accept the risk, but adding a password (any password) to the user account is just doubling my exposure.

Do you do this because you want to sudo to root after sshing from user?
I realized that sudo gain root prompts for a password, it's a sudo configuration lockdown I guess?

No, it's because I'm lazy and can't be bothered to remove the password on the root account.

"sudo gainroot" doesn't prompt for the root password, and will continue to work even if the password has been removed from the root account.